Rent Jr High
by Color With Marker
Summary: Before knowing about AIDS, before knowing who are "faggots, lezzies, dykes, crossdressers too", before they knew anything more than normal, our favorite Bohemians were innocent eighth graders in Jr. High- until they took Sex Ed. at the end of the year.
1. I Try To Open Up To What I Don't Know

_**(A/N: AH, my first Rent fic! I might be younger than the show [only by, like, forty-something days, come on!] but I'm IN LOVE with it! I know that there's tons of "RENT in high school" stories, but I wanted to do one from before they were in high school, and have them sort of grow into the bohos they truly are. It's rated M because... well, hopefully you all had Sex Ed and know what goes down in there... BTW, the actors I'm gonna use for Mimi and Joanne 's visual portrayals are gonna be Rosario and Tracie, but I'm gonna use references from both the Broadway and film version because they're both so great! Honestly, I'm listening to the OBC's "Seasons of Love" right now! [I have a problem...] Nonetheless, I present to you RENT Jr. High!)**_

* * *

"April 24, 1984, seven A.M., Eastern Standard Time. It's now the fourth marking period, which means no more gym class for us. But now we have to take the most dreaded of all classes- Sex Ed. Cindy warned me about how graphic it is, but she's a senior, so maybe it's changed since then! And I know what sex is. I mean, it's not like Roger, Benny, or Collins have had sex before like me and Maureen have, but they need a lesson on it, no doubt!"

"Shut up, Cohen, before I snap that camera in half!" Roger Davis snapped at his best friend Mark Cohen. Mark scowled before taking his camera and tucking it back inside his tan messenger bag. Maureen Johnson jutted out her red bottom lip and grabbed Mark's blue and white stripped sweater. She pulled him closer and kissed him on the lips softly.

"Aw, get a room you two!" Thomas Collins teased, making kissing sounds at the two. Maureen pulled away from her boyfriend and rolled her eyes at her best friend. She stood up on the table the group was sitting at and leaned in closely to his face.

"Close up on Thomas Collins- the only one in our group who's single!" she teased. Mark, Roger, and Benjamin Coffin III stiffled laughs of their own. Collins flicked Maureen's nose. In return, she stole his beanie and put it on top of her long dark curls.

"Mo, give it back!" Collins stood up on the bench and reached for his beloved hat. Maureen held the edges of it down and squealled loudly. Collins was able to loosen Maureen's grip and retreive his beanie. He placed it tightly on his head. Maureen moved off of the tabletop and onto Mark's lap.

"Speaking of girlfriends, where are yours?" Mark asked Benny and Roger.

"Mimi said that she and her friend were walking today," Benny spoke in defense of his girlfriend Mimi Marquez.

"Mine takes the bus, you know that," Roger spoke up for April Ericcson.

"Whatever you guys say," the filmmaker said, putting his hands up in the air.

"Hey, guys, look who's arriving in style," Collins said sarcastically, pointing to the black limosuine pulling up to the front of the school. The driver exitted the front and walked around to the rear car door. He opened it and Joanne Jefferson and Alison Grey got out. Both of them were wearing private school uniforms- navy sweater vests, white collared shirts, plaid skirts, knee socks, and ugly Doc Martins- and carried their textbooks in fancy Coach bags. The Jeffersons were successful lawyers and the Greys were just-as-successful investors. Joanne's dark brown afro was as frizzy as usual. Alison had a plaid bow that matched her skirt in her long, straight golden blonde hair. The two girls made their way toward the front doors but paused when they realized that they were going to pass their tormentors.

"Why, 'ello there, Muffy and Doc," Roger greeted, referring to Alison and Joanne. Both girls huffed and stalked past them with their chins high.

"If I had a rich daddy, I could take a fancy limosuine to school every day too," Benny scoffed loudly for the two girls to hear. Maureen gave him a high-five. Benny laughed as two hands suddenly covered his eyes and made everything seem dark.

"Guess who?" a faux-deep voice sing-songed.

"Uh, Angel?" he guessed.

"No!" Angel Dumott Schunard giggled. "But good guess!"

"Then I give up!" The hands flew away and Benny turned to see Mimi grinning at him.

"Hey, baby!" she said perkily. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before jumping up and down. "I'm so excited for Sex Ed! Aren't you guys?"

"Yeah, because these guys will finally learn the birds and the bees," Mark replied. He reached over and ruffled Roger's shaggy blonde mane. Roger swatted at Mark and frowned.

"Because not all of us have girlfriends who aren't constantly busy," he said bitterly.

"At least we have the class before lunch," Collins said. "Now I won't have to worry about eating the disgusting Mystery Meat they serve; Sex Ed will destroy my appetite!"

"Stop crying because they don't have Vegan food!" Maureen told him. "They aren't going to change the menu to Meatless Balls!"

"Ew!" Roger exclaimed, making a face.

"I hope I lose my appetite," Mimi sighed. "I swear, the food goes right to my ass!"

"Yeah, right, Best Ass Below Fourteenth Street!" Angel stated, slapping her friend's rear end for effect.

"And anyone would _kill_ for your legs!" The two best friends walked away, talking about whose body parts were better than the others, mainly consisting of the two telling the other that theirs was better.

"Hey, Roger!" April skipped up to her boyfriend and hungrily began biting his lips. The others rolled their eyes. April's sweater was hanging off of her shoulders and so were her dress and bra straps.

"That's one way to say, 'hello'," Collins muttered. April glared at him and flipped him the bird.

"Have you seen Angel and Mimi?" she asked the gang.

"They just started a debate over who had the best body parts in what areas," Mark explained, pointing in the direction they had just headed off to.

"Oh, good, because I'm Best Belly!" She gave Roger one last strong kiss before running off after her friends.

"Hey, you guys?" Maureen asked. She tugged on the top of her black tank top and stared down the front of her shirt. "Do you think that if I asked, they'd agree I have the best rack?"

"Okay, let's go to first period!" Mark said quickly, standing up and dragging his giggling girlfriend behind them.

"But Pookie, it's true! Shouldn't I ask for other people's opinions too?" The first bell rang, signalling that the other three left behind should head to their first period class. For them, it was English. They groaned as they rose and trudged into Scarsdale Jr. High School.

* * *

Angel bounced into the room at the beginning of fifth period, leading his two best friends, April and Mimi. All of the desks had index cards sitting on top of them with their names written down on them. The classroom was set up five rows of three seats. Angel found himself in the back of the second row. Across of him in the back of the third row was Mimi and in front of him was April. The three hopped up and down in delight. Angel looked to see who was sitting to his left- Thomas Collins. He made a face; Collins seemed a bit too rude for Angel's taste, but out of the group he hangs out with, the only one he knew by name was Benny from whenever he hung out with him and Mimi. He knew that another one of them was April's boyfriend, but she didn't talk about Roger that much. The trio took their seats and watched eagerly as the classroom filled up with familiar faces. Angel pointed them all out as they came in. Pam from Science was in the back of the fifth row. Ali and Sue in the fourth row had Math with him in seventh grade. Steve used to be in Music with him two years ago before dropping the class. Gordon was his weight training partner earlier in the year when they still had gym. Alison and Joanne, the rich girls of the school, sat in the front of the third and fourth rows.

Angel frowned slightly as the five recognizable faces- he knew them as Mimi's Boyfriend and Company- strode into the room. Maureen was spinning around as usual and loudly searched for her seat. She put on a pout when she saw that she was in the middle of the third row, between Joanne and Mimi. April grabbed the boy with long blonde hair and started kissing him ferociously, giving away to Angel that it was Roger, who apparently sat in front of April. That was one less person he was going to be able to talk to during class now. In the first row was Mark, then Benny, then who she assumed was Collins. He did a double take as the boy sat down. He had dark skin the color of coffee beans. He had a black beanie covering his very short dark hair. His eyes were the same color as his hair and had a slight twinkle in them. He had on a dark blue shirt and ratty jeans. Angel felt someone tap on his arm and it knocked him out of the daze he was in. He turned to see Mimi giving him a pointed look.

"Angel Dumott Schunard, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, smirking. Angel felt his face become flushed.

"You saw _nothing_," he threatened. The two glared at each other until dissolving into giggles as the bell rang. A young woman in her twenties with lucious dark waves of hair came into the room and shut the door behind her. She placed her green binder on the desk in the front of the room and straightened out her baby blue blazer before turning to face the class.

"Hello there," she greeted them. "My name is Miss Darling, and I will be your Sexual Education teacher for the marking period. Now, before we begin, I must ask that you all act mature about the topics we discuss in here, because if any of you act childish, there will be consequences. You, young man, can you pass out these packets?" She held up a stack of stapled pink packets and looked at Mark. He shyly accepted the papers and began handing them out to each student. Angel mouthed a _thank you_ to Mark when he handed him one. He read the cover page which contained many different pictures- such as babies, birth control pills, etc.- and the words **SEXUAL EDUCATION** written across it. He thought of flipping through the pages, but figured that there would be a chance of there being pictures he wouldn't want to see in there. He flipped the packet upside-down and looked to see that it asked for a parent signature. He sighed; Mimi would end up forging it for him, like always.

"Hey, you guys might want to pay close attention to this," Mark teased Collins and Benny. Collins rolled up his own packet and smacked Mark on the head with it. Angel couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Now class, on the board is the list of what we're going to talk about," Miss Darling continued. "Intercourse, Abstinence, Contraceptives, Male and Female Genitalia, Sexual Preferences, STDs, HIV/AIDS, and Teenage Pregnancy. All of these topics are things you will need to know about sexual activity. Does anyone have any questions about these topics so far?" She faked a smile as fifteen hands went up in the air. "Well, that's what this class is for! By the time you graduate from the eighth grade, you will all have answers to your questions!"

"_Some_ people know what these things are already," Maureen muttered.

"If you're so smart, then why'd you raise your hand?" Alison asked.

"Because I didn't want you all to seem so stupid!" the drama queen answered haughtily. "That's why _I_ have a boyfriend. Isn't that right, Marky?"

"Maureen!" Mark hissed, his face turning red.

"What, Pookie?"

"Please save these conversations until after you leave this class!" Miss Darling said, her smile too wide to be real anymore. "Now, I'm going to split you guys into pairs and you will go through the packet, which is an introduction to the class and the lessons we'll be doing. You are all expected to answer the three questions before the period ends, and the parent signatures are due by next Friday for a homework grade. Now, can everybody please pass up their index cards?" The students obeyed. Once she had gathered all fifteen of them, she shuffled them around and held them fanned out face-down up to Mark. He picked a card and read it- Pam Devin. He groaned and shot Maureen an apologetic look and a shrug. Miss Darling pulled out Mark's card and put it in her blazer pocket. She pouted and sighed. Next was Benny, who picked Alison.

"Save me, I got Muffy," he told Collins. His reply was an obnoxious snicker. Benny's card was pulled out and Collins was next to pick. He squinted at the name.

"Who's Angel Dumott Schunard?" he asked. Angel held up his hand meekly.

"Uh, that's me," he said. Collins looked over and nodded. Mimi grabbed Angel by the shirt and pulled him closer to her.

"Chica, this is fate!" she whispered.

"Shh, Mimi!" he giggled. He looked up as Roger let out a loud groan.

"I didn't get you," he told April. He looked at Benny and told him, "I got your girl."

"And I'm with Sue Edwards," April said glumly.

"Damn it," Joanne said as she picked her card.

"Yay, partners!" Maureen cheered as she threw her arms around Joanne, who rolled her eyes.

"Alright, everybody get with your partner and answer these questions!" Miss Darling ordered when everyone's partners were picked- or, in Ali, Gordon, and Steve's case, group because of the odd number of students. Angel and Mimi exchanged another look before Mimi stood up and moved over to where Roger was sitting as Collins slid over next to Angel.

"I'm Angel," he said, smiling.

"Angel," Collins repeated. "Friends call me Collins... Tom Collins." His cheeks became pinker. "Sorry, I hate being called 'Tom' or 'Thomas'. Just stick to Collins, please?"

"Sure thing!" _He's cute when he blushes._ "Well, let's get started!" The two boys read through many subjects within the first four pages; the basic definition of intercourse, the most common uses of contraceptives, and the names of different body parts, some of which the two boys made faces at.

"God, these questions make no sense!" Collins sighed.

"Well, you haven't given them a try yet," Angel said calmly. "First question- _What are some synonyms for intercourse?_ Easy; sex."

"Can we put 'fucking'?" Collins asked, smirking. Angel tried hard not to blush at that. There was something about how straightforward he was that he liked.

"Well, it's a synonym, but I'm not sure how Miss Darling would like that." He watched Collins write it down. He thought for a minute before writing down 'making love' in his own loopy handwriting.

"Question two- _Name different types of sexualities._ There's more than one?"

"Uh, yes, there is." Angel was trying to keep his cool. "There's straight, gay, lesbain, bisexuality, pansexuality, asexuality..."

Collins let out a low whistle. "That's insane." He scribbled them down. "I can't imagine being with another guy. It just seems weird." Angel nodded. He felt as if he was slapped across the face. He and Mimi were going to have to discuss this later.

"_When is it right to lose your virginity to someone?_" Angel read, the pep in his voice drained out. "I think that you should wait until you meet the right gu- person." He wrote that down, flustered at his slip up. Collins didn't seem to notice.

"I don't know what to put," he admitted. "I'll just put that." Angel watched him write **I DON'T KNOW** on his paper and nodded.

"Alright, everyone, we'll discuss your answers tomorrow in class," Miss Darling said. "The bell should ring in a couple of minutes." The teacher went back to reading her magazine and ignoring the thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds. The class put their seats back where they originally were and shoved their packets into their bookbags.

"You seem pretty cool, Angel," Collins said to his partner. "A bunch of us are sneaking to the Life Café for lunch hour. You wanna come with us?"

Angel smiled. _Almost like a date_. With someone who may be homophobic. "Who else is coming?" he asked, masking his mixed feelings.

"Mark, Maureen, Benny, and Roger. You should bring April and Mimi with you. Benny and Roger would like that."

"But won't that make us the odd ones out, being single?"

"We'll just have more to talk about." The bell rang and the students on the far side of the room left quickly to go eat their lunches. Alison and Joanne left much slower, unable to avoid the usual insults and for Joanne a hug from Maureen.

"You coming?" Roger asked Collins.

"Mind if we bring some company?" he replied, motioning to Angel, April, and Mimi.

"The more the merrier!" April smiled and ran up to her boyfriend. Maureen jumped onto Collins' back and he carried her as they ran into the hallway. Angel and Mimi followed them.

"So...?" Mimi asked, nudging her friend. "How was it?"

"He says he can't imagine being with another man," Angel said, his voice dripping with disappointment.

"Aw, I'm sorry Chica." Mimi threw her arms around her friend. "Maybe he hasn't realized who he is yet?"

"I hope so, Meems, I really hope so."

* * *

"April 24, 1984, one P.M., Eastern Standard Time. We survived Sex Ed so far, but that's because we haven't talked about anything gruesome yet, thankfully. We're enjoying lunch at the Life Café, waiting for our meals, so while we wait, I'll do some introductions for our old and new faces. First we have Roger, the rockstar. Then his girlfriend, April, who states she had the Best Belly. Next is Benny, everyone's loyal friend. He's sitting next to his girlfriend Mimi, who's known as The Best Ass Below Fourteenth Street. Her best friend Angel called Best Legs and is a newcomer to the group. He's sitting next to Collins, the vegetarian anarchist. Last, but definitely not least, is rising star Marueen, my girlfriend-"

"Aw, they get titles as Best something! I wanna be Best Rack!"

"Fine, let me start over; Maureen, a rising star, or Best Rack, is my girl-"

"Look, gimme that, I'm sick and tired of you always carrying that around!"

"Maureen, no, you're gonna break it!"

"Hey Mark! How's it going, Mark?"

"No! This is not my Bar Mitzvah! Give it back!"

Maureen faked a pout as Mark snatched his camera back from her and held it out of her reach. They all had just left the Life Café, with twenty minutes to spare before the next class began. They all had to sneak out of one of the doors behind the stairwells. Collins had figured out the code so he could let them back in, and just in case, he stole one of his teacher's I.D., knowing that they wouldn't bother looking for it until well after he'd return it to their desk. The eight friends had enjoyed their lunches. They all sat at tables of two; Mark and Maureen, April and Roger, Benny and Mimi, and Angel and Collins. While the three couples were being lovey-dovey and acting as if they were all on dates, Angel and Collins talked about random topics, such as classes, teachers, their familes, etc. Angel was trying his hardest to hide the crush he was forming on the anarchist, but Mimi would tease the boy now and then about it. As they arrived to the school, they spotted Alison and Joanne at one of the tables in the front of the school, eating sushi with chopsticks. Roger made faces at them before Collins let the group into the building. They were greeted by a ringing bell, and they blended into the hallway with the other students. Angel and Mimi found their way to Social Studies and took their seats in the back of the room.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" she gushed. "Tell me _everything!_"

"Sh, Mimi!" Angel shushed his friend. He pointed over to Mark and Roger in the front of the room. "What if they hear you?"

"They won't, trust me! Now, tell me, are you falling for him, or are you falling for him?"

"You're not giving me two different options here..."

"_You're falling for-_!" Mimi's cries were muffled by Angel's hand clasped over her mouth. The boy gave his best friend a weary look before hesitantly taking his hand away. Mimi took a few deep breaths to regain her cool.

"I swear, you're trying to out me to the whole world!" Angel hissed.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Mimi whispered back. "Your mom and sister don't care! Your dad... well, he was never in the picture, so who cares about him? Your whole family can accept you, and I love you for whoever you are, yet you're afraid of people finding out at school?" Angel rolled his eyes.

"Have you kept up-to-date with your magazines?" he asked. "They print out stories about gay bashes all of the time. What if I'm next?"

"You won't be Chica, I swear!" Mimi gave her friend a quick hug as the bell rang. "Oh, and I'm keeping the picture in my binder no matter what."

"_Mimi!_"


	2. Crossdressers

_**(A/N: I'm not gonna lie... I almost finished the entire chapter yesterday until my laptop magically shut down and I DIDN'T SAVE IT! Damn blonde moments!)**_

* * *

"April 28, 1984, two thirty-seven P.M., Eastern Standard Time. I am sitting here with guys and Maureen at the Subway, enjoying lunch somewhere else other than the Life Café, thanks to a certain _vegetarian_ who insists- DON'T FLIP OFF THE CAMERA! I'll need to remember to cut out that footage before my annual screening of my friends and I. We're discussing the lack of Education we've received in Sex Ed so far this week other than doing vocabulary and answering those questions from Tuesday. Maureen here decided to blurt out something less-than-appropriate in class Wednesday-"

"Marky, it's not my fault!" Maureen insisted. Mark stopped filming and frowned at her.

"You answered the last question with, 'There's a right time and a wrong time? Marky, I wish we'd known that sooner!'" the filmmaker hissed. Benny, Collins, and Roger all laughed from across the table. Maureen seemed unphased by this.

"Pookie, it's no big deal!" She kissed Mark and shrugged. "You should be proud that you're having sex with girls and they're not!"

"HEY!" the other boys snapped.

"Especially you, Roger!"

"Me!" he exclaimed.

"Because _April_ high-fived me!" Roger choked on his soda while his friends started laughing at him. He kept a straight face and gave Maureen a dirty look.

"So?" he replied, acting as if he wasn't bothered by it. "What about that guy who sits behind her? I mean, who the hell uses the term 'making love'?"

"And another thing, Maureen!" Mark said. "For the first question, you said _fucking_!"

"What's so wrong with that?" the drama queen asked innocently.

"You made the teacher leave the room for half an hour," Benny reminded her. "Then she said that she needed all week to figure out how to deal with us because of how explicit others are in class."

"Better than Muffy knowing so much about other sexualities," Roger said.

"Speak of the devil," Maureen announced obnoxiously. The boys looked up to see Alison and Joanne walking into the restaurant. The two girls didn't notice their enemies until they reached their table.

"Oh," they said.

"Hi, Joanne!" Maureen threw her arms around the less-than-pleased girl. Alison made a face at Roger when he muttered, "Virgin for life." Mark had to pry his girlfriend off of Joanne.

"Pooke, don't be rude!" she cried, slapping Mark's arm. "Can't I be nice to people?"

"Like how you were 'nice' to the guy making your sandwich," Collins said, using air quotes.

"Let's just leave," Alison pleaded Joanne.

"No, we're not going to go eat somewhere else just because these people are here," she said strongly. The two girls continued walking past the five and went to order their lunches.

"Yeah, they're so tough because they're eating lunch in the same Subway as us," Roger teased, rolling his eyes. "Big whoop."

"Aw, Roger, give them a chance," Maureen said. "When I talked to Joanne in class, she was actually really nice and smart. Maybe they're not the rich snobs that we've been calling them, eh?"

"I think someone put cocaine in your soda," Collins told his best friend, who shrugged and sucked on her drink through her straw purposefully. Mark sighed; his girlfriend was, without a doubt, completely insane.

"Hey, look, it's Mimi," Benny said as she looked over Roger and Collins' heads to see his girlfriend prancing in with a new face. All five of them turned, and they were all gawking at the person next to her.

The Latina was taller than any other girl they've seen in their lives. Her hair was a short black bob with three flowers- yellow, orange, and green- on the top of her head. She wore a matching jacket with a green vest, one yellow sleeve, and one orange sleeve. Her skirt went halfway down her thighs and was white with flower printed across it. Her stockings were green with different locations from around the world on them. Her platform heels had her tower over the tiny Mimi, who wore a blue sweater over a purple dress with a ruffled skirt. The two had their arms linked and were laughing in between random spews of Spanish words. When they could see past the tears flowing freely, they noticed the five pairs of eyes locked on them and stopped laughing.

"Benny!" Mimi cried. "Hi!" She skipped over to her boyfriend and planted a loud, wet kiss on his lips. "You taste like mayonnaise." She made a face.

"It was on my lunch," he replied, smiling. "What brings you and... your friend here?"

"_¡No les digo mi nombre, chica!_" the mystery girl said to Mimi. The others didn't understand a lick of Spanish to save their lives, but watched Mimi nod in response.

"Uh, she doesn't speak English," she said, letting out a small laugh. "Her name is... Angie. She's my friend from... summer camp! She doesn't go to our school."

"I think I'd recognize her if she did," Roger said, winking at Angie, who was turning pale.

"What brings you here?" Benny asked again.

"Oh, right!" Mimi reached into her purse and produced five envelopes. She handed each person one. "These are invitations to my birthday party next Saturday! I wanted to celebrate it early before my mom blows the money on God-knows-what."

"Cool," Collins said. "Anything you want for your birthday?"

"It doesn't matter," she answered, shrugging it off. "And before you guys throw a fit, I'm warning you that I'm inviting Joanne and Alison as well." Roger and Collins groaned. Benny made a face. Maureen bounced in her seat and clapped. Mark had taken out his camera and started rolling.

"Close up on Mimi Marquez, one of April's best friends, and her friend Angie," he documented. The two girls struck a pose and giggled for the camera. "Apparently, Mimi's almost fourteen, right?" Mimi nodded. "Alright then. She invited us, probably April and Angel, and Doc and Muffy. Are you gonna be there, Angie?"

"_¿Sería seguro para aparecer travestido o no?_" Angie asked Mimi.

"_¿Crees que cogería el?_" she replied. Angie shrugged and Mimi sighed. "_No lo sé._"

"And once again, they're speaking in Spanish," Mark continued. "Angie doesn't speak English, according to Mimi."

"But hopefully, she_ will_ be there," Collins said strongly. Roger and Benny nodded in response. Mimi put her hands on her hips.

"Are you thinking about my best friend like that?" she asked the boys mockingly. She snickered and turned to Angie. "_Todos están enamorando de ti._" Angie giggled at that and blushed.

"What'd you tell her?" Mark asked. "The camera doesn't understand as much Spanish as you think." He was ignored by the Latinas.

"_Espero que sepas que es_..." Angie said, sighing.

"_Oh, él es,_" Mimi replied, giggling. Angie turned to the four boys and waved shyly. They waved back enthusiastically without hesitation.

"Pookie, do I have competition for you now?" Maureen teased.

"Please, if you're out of his league, than she's untouchable to him," Roger snorted. He dodged Mark's hand as the filmmaker tried to slap his best friend.

"Well, we should go now," Mimi said nervously. "Angie and I need to give Joanne and Alison their invitations too, and then we're gonna have some girl time to shop." She gave Benny a good-bye kiss. Maureen quickly pulled out a pen and piece of paper. She scribbled down her phone number and gave it to Mimi.

"Call me," she said. "I think we should hang out, get to know each other better, talk about our boyfriends, and you know, stuff like that."

"Uh, sure, I'd really like that," Mimi replied, smiling as she tucked the paper into her purse. "We'll talk about it on Monday!" The two girls waved before skipping off. The boys' eyes were all glued to the back of Angie, particularly to her skirt that continued flowing up high enough to see the back of her panties- red and white stripes.

"Now that's a woman," Roger drooled. "Mark, are you filming her?"

"Got it all on film," he answered as he put his camera away.

"And a sexy accent to match herself," Benny whistled.

"And three guys talking about a girl when they are already taken," Maureen pointed out, resting her head on Mark's shoulder and squeezing his hand.

"And that whole charade with you giving Mimi her number while you were giving Angie googly-eyes too?" Collins added, smirking. "Yeah, real smooth, Johnson."

"Oh please, I'd have a better chance with her than any of you!" the drama queen exaggerated.

"Oh yeah?" All five of them looked around the restaurant for Angie and Mimi, but the two Latinas had disappeared.

"Looks like a fight to the death," Roger teased. "Whoever gets a date with Angie wins."

"Even though all of you are dating someone else and Maureen is straight?" Collins asked.

"I'm willing to date a girl to prove you fuckers wrong," Maureen said.

"Then a fight to the death it is," Benny said. The five gave each other mock glares before going back to their sandwiches.

* * *

"Oh my God, Mimi, that was too close!" Angel gasped as she and Mimi reached the girls' bathroom in the mall. "Nice save with the name, by the way!"

"Chica, they were too busy staring at your ass to realize who you really are," the Latina replied. "And by the looks of it, they're gonna be looking for you next week. Speaking of which, are you coming as Angel or Angie?" She pulled out a tube of pink lip gloss and started reapplying a new layer.

"I don't know," Angel admitted. She put on a fresh layer of mascara, her mouth wide open as she concentrated on not screwing it up. "I mean, for the past week, they've been making fun of me as a guy, yet they're going gaga over the real me." She hated acting as if she were a boy. Physically, yes she was. But she was a girl in every other way. She had to make herself seem masculine though. Her mother and sister approved of her. Her father was long gone, and she had blocked him out of her mind and considered him nonexistant. But she heard that the approval of gays in public school was hell, so she acted as a boy. It included having a seperate wardrobe of male apparel, having to speak in her regular voice than the high-pitched one she used when around her family or Mimi, and acting as if she were really straight. She hated living the double-life, but it kept her safe from any potential gay bashers in her school.

"Maybe because they know that the real Angel Dumott Schunard is sexy beyond belief and they can't handle it," Mimi said.

"Sure, that's why," Angel replied, rolling her eyes. "Like they're going to have the same reaction when they find out the real Angel Dumott Schunard is a drag queen." A sharp gasp caught the two Latinas' attention, and a glimpse of Maureen running out of the bathroom came into view in the mirror. Angel was frozen as if she'd seen Medusa. Mimi dropped her lipgloss and ran after Maureen as fast as her heels could let her. Fortunately, she was able to catch the drama queen before she'd made her way back to Benny and the others.

"Maureen, please listen to me," she begged. "You cannot tell _anyone_ what you just heard or saw!"

"But... what the... when did... how...?" For once, Maureen was unable to speak. She just continued making random gestures and uttered the beginning of unfinished questions.

"Please!" Mimi pleaded desperately. "Look, you can come over to my house later at six, but you cannot, _cannot_ tell a soul!" Maureen shut her mouth and nodded solemnly.

"Where do you live?" she asked, finally able to finish a sentence.

"Have Benny bring you. He knows where." With that, Mimi ran back to the bathroom to consol Angel.

* * *

Maureen stayed in the same spot for while before her feet made their way back to her friends. She paused before returning to them and took a deep breath. She put on her casual face and walked back in there as if nothing had happened.

"Did you find them?" all four boys asked.

"Just Mimi," Maureen lied. "She invited me over so we can have a sleepover though. Can you drop me off around six, Benny?"

"Uh, sure," her friend replied, raising an eyebrow. "Any reason why she randomly invited you over?"

"Because girls are just... weird like that," she answered, shrugging. The boys shook it off and decided to head to the Gap. Maureen just continued smiling and didn't say anything much after that. She slipped her hand into Mark's and occassionally kissed him to prove that she was fine. But inside her head, questions were bouncing off of the walls of her brain, curious about the real Angie- or should she say, Angel Dumott Schunard.


	3. So You Think, 'Might As Well'

"Please stop getting mad at me, Pookie," Maureen pouted into the payphone nearest to Mimi's house. Benny had just dropped her off a few minutes ago, and she called Mark. He was certain something had happened between the two, and frankly, Maureen couldn't stand it much longer.

"You have been flirting with everyone everywhere non-stop, and this act is getting old," Mark replied sourly. "Why are we together if only one of us is committed to the other?" The words went in one ear and out the other. Maureen was used to these conversations by now. It would end the same as always:

"Wanna have sex later?" she cooed. "I can come over tonight or tomorrow if you want. My body's _aching_ for some Markie." She heard the quick breath from the other end; she had him now. He was a sucker for her seductive ways.

"Well, maybe after school on Monday, we can head back to your house," her boyfriend squeaked. Maureen giggled.

"I love you, Pookie! Bye!" She blew a kiss into the receiver and hung up the phone. She had a little skip in her step as she approached Mimi's home. As an actress, she was great at keeping herself from freaking out like she had earlier at the mall.

How could she not see that Angie was really Angel? She heard him speak Spanish tons of time in class whenever he and Mimi were talking with each other. His group of friends had claimed he had great legs, something that Maureen even agreed with. She wasn't sure how long she had been in classes with him, but she never remembered seeing him with any girlfriends, or girls in general besides Mimi and April. His voice was so much lower in school that there was no way to tell a difference.

But there was something about the drag queen that turned Maureen on. She thought that "Angie" was one of the most gorgeous girls ever. She was determined to date her to win in the bet against her friends, even if she was a girl. Even though she's straight.

She knocked on the front door. Loud footsteps could be heard from inside and the giggling of two people. The door swung open to reveal "Angie" and Mimi. The smile on Angel's face fell, but Mimi's stayed in tact.

"Come in, Chica!" Mimi grabbed the diva's arm and yanked her inside. She shut the door and led Maureen upstairs to her bedroom. It was small, with light purple walls, a dark wooden floor, one small window, a full-sized bed with various shades of purple pillows and a comfort on it, a vanity dresser, and a closet. There were many pictures of Mimi on the walls with different people. Her and April. Her and Angel- in drag and out of drag. The three of them. Her and Benny, mostly hugging or kissing. One of Mimi and Angel sandwiching Benny between them. Maureen smiled at the last one.

"I like this," she told the others, her fingers slightly grazing over the picture.

"Me too," Mimi said. "Benny hated when we did it, but at least he was a good sport about it later."

"Yeah, _after_ he threw you over his shoulder and spun around in circles until you fell down," Angel reminded her friend. She put on a fake smile and looked at Maureen. "I bet you have some questions." The drama queen nodded; she was still too shocked to speak for once in her life. The other queen decided to start by pulling off her black bob and reveal the hidden natural buzzcut underneath.

"Wow," Maureen breathed.

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in for some people," Angel said. She readjusted her wig and sat down on Mimi's bed. She took Maureen's hands in hers. "I'm not gonna lie; I thought that by now you would've told everyone."

"I can keep a secret sometimes," she promised. "Besides, there's something I need to talk to you about..."

"Me too." Both girls looked at Mimi, who nodded.

"I was going to go and take a shower anyway," she said. The Latina skipped out of the room and shut the door behind her. Angel scooted over and let Maureen sit beside her.

"How long have you been doing this?" Maureen asked.

"Since last summer," Angel admitted. "I'd always liked girl clothes much more than guy clothes. So Mimi and I went shopping and... here I am." She struck a pose. Maureen giggled.

"What about your family?"

Angel tensed a bit at this. "Well, it's just me, my mom, and my big sister. They accept me for me."

"And your father?"

"He's... he died when I was little."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Maureen wrapped her arms around Angel sympathetically. She felt something wet fall onto her shoulder; a tear drop. She pulled away and wiped them from the Latina's face.

"It's hard sometimes," Angel weeped. "He always told me to shoot for the stars and be who I was meant to be. And that's what I try to do."

"Why not just be like this more then?"

"Because, you've seen the way that guys react to people being gay, let alone a drag queen. I try to act like I'm not, but..." Angel stood up and walked to the mirror. Maureen watched as he took off his wig and dropped it on the top of the dresser. He used a rag to wipe off his makeup. He stripped down to a white undershirt and slipped on sweatpants before taking off his skirt. Now Maureen saw the Angel she was used to seeing in school.

"This is me," he said in his normal voice. "This is how God made me. A boy. Transvestite, drag queen, queer, faggot Angel Dumott Schunard."

"Don't say that," Maureen soothed. "You're beautiful, talented, and sexy-ass Angel Dumott Schunard." Angel laughed at that.

"Thanks, sweetie," he said. "So, what was it you wanted to tell me, since I basically told you who I am."

"Well, I..." Maureen gulped; she didn't know exactly how to word it right. "When I saw you and thought you were Angie, I thought you were _hot_." Angel laughed again.

"I think all of your friends did too," he giggled.

"They did. And we all sort of made a bet. The winner is the one who can successfully get a date with 'Angie' first, and well..." Maureen bit her lip. Angel nodded.

"Well, no offense sweetie, but you're kind of not my type."

"But I want to for another reason!" Maureen insisted. She took a deep breath. "Ever since earlier today, when I saw you, I've been asking myself if I like guys or like girls. And I was hoping that you'd be the one to help me find the answer...?"

"But Maureen," Angel said, confused, "I thought you were dating Mark?"

"I know, it's wrong of me to do that, but I need to know who I am!" Maureen put on her best puppy-dog face she could muster. "Please?"

Angel sighed. "I'll make you a deal. We'll be a couple next week, and on Friday, we'll go on a date. Maybe the Life Café. Saturday is Mimi's birthday party, so maybe I'll decide then whether or not I want to go as this or as... well, you know, 'Angie'."

"I know Collins wants you there really bad," Maureen said.

"Really?" Angel clamped his hands over his mouth. Maureen gave him a weird look until it dawned upon her.

"You like Collins!" she gasped. "Oh my God! And Collins... oh my God!"

"Wait, what about him?" Angel was nearly jumping up and down now. His heart was racing at the sound of his name.

"He saw you in drag and went gaga over you!" Maureen gushed. "This is perfect! I need to set the two of you up!"

"No!"

"No?"

"He's gonna freak out if he realizes who 'Angie' is!" Angel cried. "He said to me in class that he could never imagine being with another guy. What do you think he'll do when he realizes the girl he fell for is actually the guy who sits next to him in health class?"

"Then he'll realize that it doesn't matter and that he loves you no matter what?" Maureen suggested, shrugging.

"I'm not sure it works like that."

"You never know. Does Mimi have a phone?" Angel nodded and pointed to the phone on the vanity. Maureen picked it up and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?" he asked the drama queen.

"I need to talk to someone about something," she replied. She sighed and put on a fake smile. "Pookie? I need to talk to you. I think we need to take a small break..."

* * *

Joanne cursed to herself as she ran into her dance studio- two minutes late. She had lost track of time when she and Alison were doing their health vocabulary homework. It was a little weird that her dance classes were switched to Sundays, but it didn't matter much to her. Her parents didn't go to church like Alison did. She was still slipping on her black heels as she practically hopped into the room. She stood upright and straightened out her black dress. She was the youngest one in the class with more dedication than those who were juniors and seniors in high school. She watched as her instructor grimaced at her.

"You're late, Miss Jefferson," she said.

"I know, and I apologize for that," Joanne insisted. "But I'm ready to tango!"

"Good, because we have one boy your age who has no partner." The teacher snapped her fingers. "Cohen!"

"Wait a minute..." Joanne mumbled to herself. That name sounded too familiar to her...

"Joanne, Mark. Mark, Joanne. You two are partners now." Joanne looked up to see Mark Cohen's wide eyes and red face. He pushed his glasses up his nose and stared at the floor. He looked just as thrilled as she was.

"You take tango here?" she asked.

"Yeah," the boy replied quietly. "My dance partner used to be Nanette Himmelfarb until she quit last week." Joanne nodded.

"I got moved to Sundays," she said. She stepped closer to Mark and lifted his head up. "And I hope you don't slack off here because I take this seriously."

"So do I." Mark stood up straighter and placed one hand on Joanne's waist. He grabbed her hand with his free one and held them out to the side. She placed her hand on his shoulder and nodded. They could see how serious the other was. The instructor watched as the entire group of dancers tangoed around the room. She seemed impressed with the two youngest pupils whose eyes never left their partner's.

"This is awkward," Joanne said afterwards.

"Which part?" Mark asked.

"For one thing, you haven't called me 'Doc' yet," the African-American teased.

"You're not wearing any," the Jewish boy remarked. "And... I guess I shouldn't have second-guessed you. You're really a good dancer."

"Wow, first I get on your girlfriend's good side, and now you? I'm on a role." Mark turned pale at this. Joanne frowned. "What? Did I say something wrong."

"She... wanted to take a break from me," he said, staring at the ground. "She said that there's someone else that she's with as an... experiment of some sort."

"Oh." Joanne hesitantly hugged Mark, who remained stiff. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was bound to happen."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're all that bad," Joanne said, smiling sheepishly.

"You know what?" Mark replied. "You aren't either. Why do we even hate each other anyway?"

"Who knows." Joanne picked up her dance bag and swung it over her shoulder. "See you in school tomorrow." She waved goodbye and headed for the door.

"Wait!" she heard Mark to call out to her. She turned to look at him.

"What?"

"I was wondering... maybe if you wanna... I don't know, go out sometime?" He was turning pink. "You know what, that was stupid. I'm sorry."

"No, Mark, it's alright." Joanne smiled. "I'd really like that. How's Friday at the Life Café sound?"

"Great." He smiled back. Joanne decided to toss her bag on the floor and ran up to Mark. Without thinking, she pressed her lips against his. He didn't freak out or push her off, but rather kissed her back.

It was wrong. They both knew it. It was like Romeo and Juliet. But neither of them cared.

* * *

April ran through an alley on Avenue B as fast as her five-inch wedges let her. Her mini skirt was riding up dangerously high, but she could care less. She had to pull up her tube top more than once and she finally stopped and buttoned up her denim jacket before walking, keeping her eyes out for the one person she depended on the most. No one else in her school knew about this place or why she came here. It was in downtown of Scarsdale and not someplace that most fourteen-year-olds came to regularly. Her usual place was the park, but she risked being caught now. Not even Mimi or Angel knew of this place.

"Well well well, what have we here, huh?" the chilling voice asked the girl. April turned to see him; The Man. He came out from the shadows with a creepy grin on his face. April saw the tiny bag in his hand. It was exactly what she needed.

"How much?" she asked.

"Two-fifty." She sighed and reached into her purse. She counted out the money in twenties and tens. She paid The Man and snatched the powder from his hands.

"Are you holding out on me?" she asked. "This seems smaller than usual."

"That is an ounce," he insisted. "It's the same amount as last time and all of the times before that. You're just wanting more." He ran his fingers through the green bills in his hand. "How do you get the money for this anyway?"

"I... work," April said, shrugging.

"What street corner?" The Man asked. April sighed.

"What's your point?" she retorted.

"I think that I can help you out if you want to be a little more... discreet." He stepped closer to the younger girl and ran the back of her hand lightly across her pale cheeks. She didn't recoil at his touch.

"Be a little more specific," she said.

"I can set you up to do some things for my other clients and partners, and not only would you get more than an ounce each time, but some decent pay too." April thought how beneficial that could be. And she had a better chance of not being discovered too.

"Deal."


	4. Help Me Out Daddy If You Can

"April 30, 1984, seven AM, Eastern Standard Time. It's official; me and Maureen are no longer a couple. And neither of us have told the other who we're dating now, but we all owe this diva five bucks because she was able to score a date with Angie before the rest of us. Mimi confirmed this on the phone with Benny last night, so we're all five dollars poorer while Mo is twenty dollars richer. Hopefully, this means she'll pay for lunch at the Life later."

"I'm saving up for my date with Angie," Maureen said, giggling. Mark turned the camera to himself.

"She's also been giggling whenever someone says Angie's name, like it's the biggest joke of the century," he said before putting his camera away.

"So, I'm curious as to who you guys are with now," Collins spoke up. "Do we know these people?"

"Yes," they replied.

"Are they in any classes with us?"

"Yes."

"Is hell gonna freeze over when we find out who they are?" Roger asked groggily. He was never a morning person and practiced that belief by sleeping at the table every day.

"Doc and Muffy, twelve o' clock," Benny groaned. They were prepared for the usual dispute that they had every morning. But everyone's jaws dropped when Joanne and Mark went up to each other and kissed.

"Oh my god," Roger whispered.

"Do you think she'll kill her?" Benny replied.

"Knowing Maureen, anything can happen," Collins hissed.

"Aw, Marky, I didn't know you were dating Joanne now!" Maureen gushed. She went up to her and gave her a hug. Alison was still unable to move.

"Uh, we should go," Joanne said, grabbing her best friend's hand and pulling her into the building.

"What the hell?" the boys asked Mark.

"What?" Mark replied innocently.

"First of all, when do you and Doc even see each other outside of classes?" Roger asked. Mark didn't answer; no way was he going to admit to taking tango classes and being dance partners with Joanne Jefferson. He was a bit ashamed, but he knew he'd overcome it eventually.

"Don't tell me she's just as easy as Mo," Collins cracked.

"Virgin," his best friend said, sticking out her tongue.

"Save that for your new mystery boyfriend," Benny said. He looked up to see Mimi, Angel, and April heading their way, their arms linked together and all of them giggling.

"Roger, babe!" April skipped over to her boyfriend and plopped down on his lap. "I have a surprise for us!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a thick wad of cash. "We're all going out for lunch! My treat!"

"So much for Mo paying," Mark said.

"Where'd you get this kind of money?" Roger asked, impressed that his girlfriend was capable of such a feat at fourteen.

"My parents have been generous with their scratch-off lottery tickets," she answered, shrugging. She kissed Roger and smiled. "And because I love you."

"Hey baby," Mimi greeted her boyfriend, kissing his cheek. "What's up?"

"Well, we're trying to find out when some random guy comes in and says that he's Mo's boyfriend," he answered.

"Then watch this," the diva said. She turned to Angel and kissed him softly on the lips. They gave each other an Eskimo kiss as well. The others in the group watched and smiled.

"Someone's upgraded from Mark!" Collins said. "How's he gonna react to your date on Friday with Angie?"

"Oh, it's all good," the couple answered, giggling.

"Come on, Pookie, let's go to class!" Maureen took Angel's hand and led him into to building.

"So, Mimi, you never told us whether or not your friend was coming on Saturday or not," Roger said, raising his eyebrows. "Is she?"

"Uh..." Mimi stared at the grass. "I need to go to the bathroom." She stood up and ran inside the building.

"What was that about?" Mark asked Benny.

"I don't know. Time of the month?"

* * *

"Um, Maureen, I'm not comfortable with this... PDA," Angel told his girlfriend as they walked through the hallway.

"Why?" the diva asked innocently. "Mark doesn't have any issues with it. He's head over heels for Joanne! It's not like he's gonna run to the bathroom and cry his eyes out during class or something."

"But, Mo..." Angel bit his lip. He tried to think of a way to say what he wanted to without being overheard. So he took Maureen underneath of a stairwell so no one would see them.

"I like where this is going," she teased, licking her lips.

"Maureen, I'm not into you," he blurted.

"I know."

"Then why are you trying to go and kiss me in front of your friends?"

"Because I'm trying to protect your image, Pookie!" Maureen sighed; she didn't want to admit to something she wasn't sure of yet. Angel could sense that she was hiding something from him.

"What is it, Chica?" he asked. "I know you're dying to say something."

"I... I'm not into you either Angel," Maureen confessed. "No offense, since you're one of the cutest things I've ever seen, but you don't turn me on."

"Oh, that really boosts my self esteem."

"I mean that I don't think that I'm into guys anymore. I mean, look at Mark!"

"You two broke up Saturday."

"Listen Angel, we're both targets!" Maureen looked around. There was no one around, and the late bell was bound to ring soon. "I've hung around different groups of people in this school. There are more homophobic assholes than you think. Trust me, I'm doing us both a solid by covering up for each other. Once we're outted, we're outted, and bullseyes will be painted on our backs! Do you want that?"

Angel stared at the floor and bit his lip. "No, I don't." He looked up at Maureen. "Is Collins one of them?"

"No way in hell am I best friends with a homophobe!" Maureen cried. "But I'm not sure if he even knows what being gay is. He might be some philosophical anarchist, but he's not exactly all brains when it comes to romance." She looked around and leaned in closer to Angel to whisper, "I don't think he's even had his first kiss yet!"

"No!" Angel gasped. "Even _I've_ kissed someone, at least before you."

"Look, I know you like him, but he's not that open to being with guys as anything more than friends." The late bell rang, telling Maureen and Angel that they were late for first period; Music for Angel and Science for Maureen.

"I'll walk you to class," the drag queen said. "If we're trying to be a legitimate couple, it's what guys do for their girlfriends, right?"

"I guess," the diva replied, shrugging. "Me and Marky weren't like that in school, just in bed-"

"TMI!" The two giggled and held hands as they made their way to Maureen's first class. As they did, they saw Mark doing the same for Joanne. Maureen felt pained by that, but she wasn't sure why. She unknowingly clenched Angel's hand tighter. He winced, but decided to not say anything about it; they'd talked enough about their sexualities for one day.

"Well, here we are," she said. "So, should we hug, or-?" Angel crashed his lips onto the drama queen's, cutting her off. Maureen's eyes widened at that, but her eyes fluttered shut as the kiss intensified. They didn't stop until a rather loud cough startled the odd couple. They looked up to see Collins and Roger smirking at them.

"Oh, hi, boys," Angel said as he blushed. "Um, I'll see you in Health, babe."

"I'll count the minutes," Maureen replied. "All five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred of them."

Angel giggled. "I hope it's not that long!" He gave her one final peck on the lips before heading off to Music. Collins tried to hold back a laugh while Roger let out a low whistle.

"We should probably, uh, go in class now!" Maureen flung open the door and walked in with her two friends behind her.

"Talk about awkward," the anarchist muttered.

_Oh, Collins,_ his best friend thought, _you have absolutely no idea._

* * *

Mimi cursed to herself as she stormed to the girls' bathroom, clutching the straps of her bookbag tightly. She mentally damned Mother Nature to hell for bringing on cramps, warning her of what was about to happen soon. The teacher fortunately excused her to the restroom, not really seeming to care whether or not the Latina came back. She would usually e-mail or call her boyfriends while the students slept through random movies in Spanish. Angel was acting very strange today, but Mimi was too wrapped up in not ruining her skirt to say anything about it. She went into the second stall and solved her problem. As she washed her hands, she heard the faint sound of a lighter coming from the last stall. She knew people came to the bathroom for cigarettes, and frankly, she decided could use one, even though she was too young and had never smoked one before.

"Hello?" she asked. "Who's in the last stall? I can hear you."

"Shit," a voice hissed. The last door opened to reveal none other than the only redhead around Scarsdale.

"April?" Mimi asked. "You're the one smoking?"

"Shh!" the other girl hissed. "And no, I'm not smoking."

"Then why did I hear a lighter?" Mimi noticed April was gripping onto her right bicep. There was a piece of rubber tied higher up her arm tight. A large purple bruise weren't covered by her fingers.

"Look, it's not cigarettes, okay?" April looked under the stalls to make sure the two friends were alone. She whispered, "It's something that feels way better than a damn cigarette."

"Really?" Mimi asked. She was always open to trying new things, something she hadn't learned to regret.

"You wanna take a trip that will blow your mind?" A Cheshire Cat grin creeped onto the redhead's face as she pulled her friend into the stall and locked it. Mimi watched in awe. She removed her blue cardigan as April requested. The needle was full of a white powder that was heated by the lighter the Latina had heard earlier. A piece of rubber was tied around the top of her arm. April smacked her arm a few times before finding a vein. Mimi felt a pinch and held back a yelp as the needle went into her arm and the suspicious white substence was injected into her arm. Her friend continued the same process on herself.

And Mimi Marquez experienced a trip that she would never forget for the rest of her life.


	5. I Think I Smell a Whiff of a Scheme

Alexi Darling was fast asleep at her desk when students began filing into the classroom. Her favorite five- Pam Barberie, Ali Sams, Sue Edwards, Steve Lohr, and Gordon Wilcox- were quiet and calm, as usual. It was the other ones she despised. She mentally referred to them as mini-Bohemians, although she wasn't sure if any of them were bright enough to know what the word "bohemian" meant. At least she had remembered their names by now. She awoke to a different scene than usual. Instead of being draped all over Mark Cohen, Maureen Johnson was all over Angel Dumott Schunard. She was sitting on his lap and poking his nose as the two giggled at absolutely nothing. Mimi Marquez and April Ericsson were shushing each other for no reason. She saw that their pupils were slightly dilated but didn't think to act on it. Thomas Collins and Roger Davis were rolling their eyes at Benjamin Coffin and hitting him over the head; the teacher assumed it was because his girlfriend was ignoring him. Joanne Jefferson and Alison Grey were arguing over something. The two girls continued to glance over at Mark, who was fiddling with his camera. Miss Darling wondered if he could even go an hour without even looking at it.

"Alright, settle down, class," she said less-than-enthusiastically. April, Roger, and Maureen went back to their seats. "Now, take out your vocabulary homework for the first chapter. I'll be around to collect it." She started on the side of the room that would cause her less stress. All five handed theirs in without any problems. Alison and Joanne's paper were both typed and stapled together, impressing the teacher. She knew they were better than the others. Maureen's was at the bottom of her messenger bag, balled up. She tried to flatten it before the teacher lost patience and snatched it out of her hands. Angel handed his in and smiled sweetly. Collins had left his out and was sleeping now. Benny turned around and hit his friend on the head to wake him up; it didn't work. Mark and Benny turned theirs in. April's was torn at the edges.

"Wait, we had homework?" Roger asked, wrinkling his nose.

"I told you a billion times that we did," Mark groaned.

"Of course _you_ don't have it," Miss Darling muttered under her breath as she dropped the homework on top of her messy desk. "Open your books to page ten. Today, we'll begin chapter one; Intercourse." She ignored the giggling from those who were immature. The plop from books hitting desks echoed. Students begrudgingly opened to page ten and waited for their teacher to continue.

"Be careful, Muffy," Roger teased, "There's _sex_ in this!"

"Oh, shut it!" she retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"Now, first thing here is the different types of intercourse..." Miss Darling shook her head. "I have no idea why I'm teaching you this." She looked up to see Maureen's hand high up in the air. Against her better judgement, she nodded to let her speak.

"Do Mark and I have to pay attention to this part?" she asked. "We've done it tons of times." Everyone laughed at that. Alexi smacked her own forehead.

"Good luck, Angel," Collins told the Latino to his right.

"I don't think I'll need it," he replied, grinning.

"Does anyone want to read the first vocabulary word?" Miss Darling asked. She pointed to Joanne.

"Missionary sex?" she answered, making a face. "Is this seriously in the curriculum?"

"Don't ask me; ask the principal. I'm getting paid for this. And the definition that goes with it?"

Joanne's face turned redder. "Um... I'm not comfortable with that-"

"It's when a guy sticks his ding-a-ling in your lower lips," April said loudly. Now the teacher was red in the face.

"Thank you, Miss Ericsson," she groaned. But she decided that the abrasive and foul-mouthed student might be able to help her a bit. "Would you mind reading the other definitions out loud for us too?"

"Will it get me a D?"

"Sure, why not?"

April sat up straighter and read her own definitions, all of which were revised in her own way to make it use different words than the book had. "Oral sex is when someone goes down on you and uses their mouth on your special parts to make you feel amazing. Anal is what gay guys do because neither of them have a woman hole. If you're a girl, than you have to improvise a dick with your fingers, or else you're both in the dog house. Abstinence is those too chicken to swipe their V-card because some magical god of theirs said they'd condemn them to hell if they do. My personal favorite is a sixty-nine, when-"

"Alright, Miss Ericsson!" Miss Darling cut her off.

"Wait, so guys... They can't...?" Roger made a face. "Oh, God, that's weird!"

"But it's a natural way of living for gay men," Mimi intervened, sticking up for her best friend as he stared at his textbook.

"That's right, Miss Marquez," Alexi said. "Also, abstinence, _April_, is normal too. It's for those who wait until after marriage so they don't risk teen pregnancy or STDs."

"Then I don't wanna be near April," Alison said. "I'm sure that slut is full of disease."

"And the lock of the chastity belt will never be broken for you, Muffy," the redhead snapped. "You'll be lucky if some idiot even chooses to ask you to a dance on a dare!"

"Catfight!" Benny, Collins, Mark, and Roger all called out at the same time. Joanne had to hold back Alison while Mimi and Angel had to wrestle April to keep her still.

"Girls, I will have you both suspended if you can't stop your bickering!" Miss Darling threatened. Alison and April slowly sat back down in their seats.

"Bitch," they both muttered under their breath.

"Now," Miss Darling continued, "Who wants to read the first paragraph?"

* * *

"April 30, 1984, noon, Eastern Standard Time. We are at the Life Café again, having the girl with the current month's namesake treat us to lunch. Speaking of her, she nearly massacred Alison Grey in health class over a debate of who had sex and who didn't. By the way, she knows her way to make awkward definitions of sex twice as awkward yet so much funnier. I'm surprised she wasn't suspended for her lovely performance. Then again, _Maureen_ announced to the whole class again that we've had sex, so I guess what she did wasn't much worse. One day, Angel and Roger will have to make their women less... vulgar?"

"There's nothing wrong with _my _woman," Roger insisted, pulling April onto his lap and kissing her. "Her vulgarity is a huge turn on."

"And I can't change Maureen," Angel said, shrugging.

"So, Mimi, what do you want for your birthday?" Maureen asked the Latina, who was sipping Coke through a straw.

"I dunno. Right now, I could really use some cash," she answered, giving April a small glance. Both of them knew why too. "I know that Angel here is gonna buy me a skirt or something, and Benny will try to outshine him."

"Don't worry, sweetie, my gift for you is perfect." He kissed her cheek.

"Hey, we're still waiting on an answer for whether or not that Angie is showing up," Collins said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, she is," Maureen, Mimi, and Angel all said simultaneously. They all looked at each other. The others were confused.

"Um, she's my sister," Angel explained quickly. "She said that she met you all on Saturday and wanted to see you all again."

"But she doesn't speak any English," Mark pointed out.

"She only speaks Spanish when she's nervous and shy!" Mimi blurted. "And you guys really made her nervous when you saw her, so maybe now she'll speak English!" She smiled as Angel kicked her shin underneath of the table.

"What about you, Angel?" April asked, pouting. "Won't you be there too? I mean, I know you and your sister don't get along, but maybe you will for one Saturday for Mimi?" April wasn't aware that "Angie" and Angel were the same person. She'd met both, but thought they were siblings, even though the only sister Angel had was his older sister Nicole, who was friends with Mark's sister Cindy.

"Uh-uh, I can't," Angel said, putting on a pout of his own. "My mama is forcing one of us to go with her to Abuela's house, so I got the short straw because I'm younger."

"Aw, that sucks, Pookie," Maureen whined, pinching his cheek. "Maybe we can make up for that afterwards...?" She wriggled her eyebrows. Angel gasped.

"Mo!" The two giggled. Maureen's friends' were confused. Usually, she chose guys who would be easier to sleep with. They weren't so sure if Angel was one of those guys so far.

"A-hem, I saw something interesting this morning," Collins teased. "Didn't you, Roger?"

"You know what, I did!" the rocker added. "I think it was two people... _eating each other's faces_!"

"Huh, one could wonder..." They slowly turned to the couple who was blushing.

"Are you jealous?" Maureen asked her best friend. "I'll give you a kiss if you want!" She puckered her lips at Collins, who pushed her back.

"No thanks, that'll just make this awkward!" he said. "That and you're boyfriend is right there!"

"And she's going on a date with his older sister this Friday," Benny pointed out.

"Fine by me," Angel said. "Fair is fair, and she made twenty bucks off of it too!"

"Don't remind me."

"Oh shit!" Mimi cried. "We've got ten minutes before the next bell!" April threw about one hundred dollars on the table and the group took off for their school so they wouldn't be written up.

* * *

"Collins, we need to talk," Maureen said across the aisle as they sat in English. They had been watching John Waters' _Polyester_ whil ethe teacher prepared the final test, so most of the students fell asleep or watched it; after all, it was a John Waters film.

"About?" he asked.

"You have the hots for Angie!" The anarchist clamped his hand down over the drama queen's mouth.

"Shh!" he hissed. "Any louder? I don't think people in Science class right now could hear you!" Maureen licked his hand so he would pull away. It worked, like it always had the past hundred times she'd done so.

"Aw, you totally have a crush on her!" she cooed.

"So what if I do? She's going on a date with you."

"But what about Saturday at Mimi's birthday party? She's gonna be there, and we're not going to do anything but go on one small date. After that, you're free to make all of the moves you want on her."

"Mo, you're insane."

"You'll have your first kiss!"

"Don't forget to tell everyone there that too!"

"But Collins! Angel told me that she has a crush on you too!"

"...Really?"

"Yes, really." Maureen reached over and patted her friend on the knee. "I guarentee that something will happen on Saturday between you and Angie. And I know what to do."

Collins gulped. "Oh no..."

"Wine and beer," she said, winking.

* * *

"Dang it, no!" Alison whined as she tried her locker combination again. It didn't open. "No no no no no no _no!_"

"Having trouble there, Muffy?" Benny asked as he put away textbooks in his own locker, two away from his enemy's.

"No, Benjamin, I'm not," she growled through clenched teeth. "Can't you tell? Everything here is peachy keen!" She kicked her locker with the toe of her Mary Janes, something shre regretted almost instantly. She hopped up and down on her good foot and winced in pain.

"Let me help," Benny insisted. "What's your combination?"

"Eighteen twenty-two twenty," she said. "You're not gonna break in and vandalize my personal belongings, are you?"

"I'm not the monster you think I am, Alison," he replied. Alison paused.

"Y-you said 'Alison,'" she pointed out. "You didn't call me Muffy."

"Nope."

"But you always call me Muffy!"

"Well maybe I'm proving you wrong by being nicer than you expected." With that, he opened her locker and smiled. "I'm being a nice guy. You could try that too." He shut his own locker and picked up his bookbag. Alison was still confused as to why the person she was supposed to hate was randomly opening her locker and addressing her by her real name.

"Thanks," she said as he walked away. She watched him go and thought about what he said.

"Alison!" Joanne called down the hallway. "The limo is waiting out front! You ready?"

"Just a second!" Alison shouted back. She grabbed her history book before slamming her locker shut and running to her best friend.

* * *

"Oh my god, you guys, guess what!" April cried as she climbed into Mimi's bedroom window. She successfully scared the two Latinas in the room; Angel was luckily already in drag by the time April broke in. "Oh, I didn't know you were here, Angie."

"Yeah," Angel replied in her falsetto voice.

"What?" Mimi asked in response to April's question.

"I got us into this really cool club for a sweet party this Saturday night after your birthday party!" April squealed. She turned to Angel and said, "I was hoping your brother was free, but having an older girl with us will make us look like we're sophomores too!"

"Uh huh," she replied. "Where's this club anyway?"

"It's downtown, but I have this guy who promised that nothing bad will happen to us at all!" April bounced up and down on Mimi's bed, but the other two girls weren't as excited.

"Downtown?" Angel asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Um, Mimi?" April pulled her friend close and whispered in her ear, "I'm saying this because my dealer is there, and he's gonna have a new supply shipped in by Friday night. Unless you don't want to go flying again." Mimi bit her lip; she really liked the way she felt when April injected her with whatever it was earlier. She assumed it was another form of cigarettes, or even marijuana. It would make her seem so much cooler than she was now. Besides, she didn't want to let her best girl friend down.

"Angie, please?" Mimi pouted. "I swear, we won't get caught or anything! My mom's gonna be out of town from Friday to Monday!"

Angel let out a groan. "You guys are so lucky you're cute!"

"Great!" April exclaimed. "This is gonna be the best party ever; you guys _won't_ regret it!"


	6. Sweet Kisses

"May 4, 1984, seven PM, Eastern Standard Time. I am standing outside of the Life Café, waiting for Joanne to show up for our first date. Is it classy? No. Is she above all of this? Most definitely. But I think that maybe if she comes to this place, she'll understand me and my friends better. I mean, this is our regular hangout for my friends. Maureen said that she's going on a date with Angie tonight, but she never said where. Benny, Collins, and Roger are all out doing something idiotic. Hopefully they won't get arrested because tomorrow is Mimi's birthday party. Hopefully, twenty dollars is a good present...? Oh wait, there's Joanne now!"

Mark panned the camera on a Cadillac heading down the street. The driver exitted the front seat and went around to the rear passenger door. He opened it to reveal Joanne. She was wearing a simple tan blouse and jean skirt that went down to her knees. Instead of Doc Martens, she had small black heels that made her slightly taller than Mark. He was stunned. He never expected her to look so... beautiful.

"H-hi," he greeted her. She giggled at that. They only hugged since the driver was still there.

"I'll come for you at eight thirty, Miss Jefferson," he told Joanne.

"Thank you," she replied, smiling. Once the driver was out of sight, Mark led Joanne into the Life Café. For once, it wasn't chaotic. Then again, Mark wasn't here with Maureen or Collins, who always made a scene of something at their favorite restaurant every week. Joanne had never been to the Life Café and wasn't all that sure how she should act.

"Don't worry," Mark assured her. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's not as bad as you think." They walked up to the host's podium. The Asian man standing there gave him a funny look.

"Where's the rest of your bohemian animals that you call friends?" he asked. Joanne was taken aback by his rude behavior toward her date.

"It's just us," Mark said, unphased by the man's snarky comment. He had grown accustomed to it by now. "Just a table for two, please."

"Fine." The host led the two to a booth near the front. "How many of you people are going on a date tonight? Sheesh."

"What are you talking about?" Mark asked.

"That chick you're usually with has a booth in the back with another girl." The host pointed to the back. Joanne and Mark looked, and sure enough, there was Maureen and "Angie", giggling over something.

"Shit," Mark hissed. He opened up his menu and hid behind it.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?" the waiter asked as he approached the couple. He wasn't a huge fan of Mark either, and the fact that he was uncomfortable right now made his crappy night a little bit better.

"Water with lemon," Joanne answered, smiling.

"Coke," Mark squeaked from his hiding spot. The waiter walked away as he scribbled down the order on a tablet.

"Are you embarassed to be here with me?" Joanne asked Mark as she eased the menu onto the table.

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "It's just... I haven't been with anyone but Mo, and now, we're both on a date with someone else rather than each other. It feels kind of awkward, you know?"

"Mark, I think you're not understanding something about your ex." Joanne looked back at the two girls sitting far away. "She's on a date here with a girl instead of a guy. Maybe the reason why she broke up with you was because she doesn't like guys anymore. Maybe she's... a lesbian."

"Are you saying I turned my girlfriend into a lesbian?" Mark gasped.

"Your drinks," the waiter chirped, a smile stuck on his face. He had caught the tail end of Mark and Joanne's conversation. "Do you guys know what you want?"

"I'll have the soy burger dinner," Mark said.

"Same," Joanne said.

"Alright, I'll be back soon. Let me just check on your ex's table." The waiter grinned and skipped away. Mark scowled at him.

"Ignore him," Joanne said. She reached across the table and took Mark's hands in hers. "Just right now, forget about everyone else in the world, because it's all about you and me tonight."

"Okay," he responded, his voice cracking. They both bit their lips before laughing.

Mark opened his eyes to steal one last glance at Maureen. She and Angie were standing up now, smiling at each other. His eyes widened when he watched his ex-girlfriend get on her toes to kiss the other girl. And it wasn't a short kiss either. The other patrons looked disturbed from the two teens making out in the middle of the restaurant, but that didn't stop them. Joanne looked to see to, and something inside of her felt attracted to what was happening. And they watched until the two girls were forced to pull apart by an angry manager.

"Whoa," all four teens whispered.

* * *

"May 5, 1984, five fifty-five PM, Eastern Standard Time. We're all in the basement at Mimi's house, celebrating her finally turning fourteen years old. Now the only people younger than her are me and Maureen. We've been through all of the presents so far. We all gave me money per request, Angie got her a nice skirt from her and Angel, and Benny bought her a charm bracelet, which is surprising because I didn't think he could afford that. And we've eaten cake after singing in English _and_ Spanish 'Happy Birthday'. Now what are we gonna do...?"

"Spin the bottle!" Maureen suggested.

"You would like that, wouldn't you, Mo?" Benny teased, his arms tight around Mimi, who was on his lap.

"What about Truth or Dare?" April asked. "It's not as crazy."

"Fine by me," Maureen agreed. "Can I start?"

"NO!" everyone shouted.

"I'd feel a lot safer if she was the last person to go," Alison said, sitting closer to Joanne. The two girls felt slightly out of place, but they tried their hardest to fit in. Maureen and Mark were the ones who were more willing to talk to them, and Benny and Mimi were nice to them too. But Alison still felt weird.

"I'll start since I'm the birthday girl," Mimi said. "Mark, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Mark answered. He knew better than to answer with Dare.

"How many times did you and Maureen do it in a week?" the Latina asked. Angel giggled at that; she was in drag, only because Maureen said she had a plan.

"Uh, I think two or three times?" The Jewish boy blushed. He turned to Joanne and gave her an apologetic look. She just smiled in response. "Roger, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare, Cohen, because yours are all weak," Roger answered, smirking.

"Take off your pants then." Roger shrugged and took off his jeans, sitting in black boxers on the floor without any problem. April planted herself on his lap and ran her hands on his thighs.

"I don't think this was a bad dare at all," she purred, kissing Roger's neck. He had trouble focusing for a minute until he noticed his little friend saying hi to everyone else in the room.

"Truth or Dare, Doc," he said as he used April to cover himself.

"Truth," Joanne replied, ignoring her nickname.

"Tell us how you and Mark really started dating. Because we all know it was during the weekend. We're not idiots." Joanne bit her lip and looked at her boyfriend whose eye were glued to the tan carpet.

"Should I say it, Honeybear?" she asked.

"Yes," Mark sighed. "They'll keep on pestering us if we don't."

"We have the same tango class together," she admitted. "Fate somehow placed us together, and we just... clicked." The room was silent before everyone started laughing, minus Alison.

"I thought you had classes on Tuesday," she said, confused.

"Miss Porter moved them to Sundays, and it happened to be the day after Mark and Maureen broke up..." Joanne looked at Maureen, whose face was red and tears were starting to form. "Truth or Dare, Maureen."

"I'll switch it up and go for a Truth," she replied. Joanne smiled. Maureen definitely should've chosen Dare.

"Why were you kissing Angie in the middle of the Life Café yesterday?" Maureen was caught off guard.

"How do you know about that?" she asked. The others stared at her in shock; Roger, Benny, and Collins were all secretly jealous that she was able to kiss the girl.

"We were on a date at the Life Café yesterday, and that turned everybody's head in the restaurant," Joanne answered.

"I just felt like it," the diva said, shrugging. "It was like kissing her brother."

"EW!" April and Angel cried, giggling.

"Girl, you're crazy," Collins laughed. Maureen gave Angel a coy smile. It was time for her to put her plan into action.

"Fine then. Angie, Truth or Dare?" the drama queen asked her girlfriend.

"Why not a dare?"

"Kiss Collins!" The whole room went dead silence. Everyone stared at either Maureen, Angel, or Collins. Alison wasn't too fond of kissing. Joanne and Mark thought it was wrong for Angie to go around kissing every eighth grader, mostly the reason why being Maureen. Roger and Benny were praying that Collins would chicken out. Mimi and April didn't think Angie would have the guts to do it. And Maureen knew she was doing her best friend and girlfriend a huge favor.

"Alright," Angel said after a few moments of silence. "Might as well. She's not gonna let up."

"S-sure," Collins replied weakly. The two leaned in and shared a small peck on the lips. Collins was going to pull away, but Angel wouldn't let him. Instead, the kiss intensified. Angel slipped her tongue into his mouth. Collins didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he tried biting her lip. He successfully elicited a groan from her. It was Maureen who yanked the two apart. She sat right on Angel's lap, giggling.

"That was awesome!" she cried. Angel was blushing.

"Uh, Truth or Dare Collins?" she asked her crush.

"Truth," he said quickly. He wasn't ready for another dare.

"Was I your first kiss?" Collins just nodded. The tension in the room grew.

"Um, isn't the party over at six?" Mark asked, checking the wall clock. Sure enough, it read six o' clock. "We should go."

"Our ride should be here," Alison told Joanne. She nodded and stood up.

"We had fun, Mimi," she said, smiling. "I'm glad you invited us."

"See you Monday," the Latina said, waving goodbye as the two girls shuffled toward the front door.

"My mom is getting the five of us," Roger told his friends. The other four nodded and stood up as well.

"I sat on your lap because I didn't want Collins to realize you were really a boy," Maureen whispered in Angel's ear. She nodded; she knew _exactly_ what Maureen was talking about. Roger put his pants back on and gave April a goodbye kiss. Benny gave Mimi a kiss. Angel just waved to Collins with her pinky finger. He waved back and Maureen ushered her friends out the door.

"What a man," Angel whispered to herself once they were out of earshot.

"_YOU HAD YOUR FIRST KISS!_" Maureen's voice could be heard from where Angel, April, and Mimi were still standing.

"_MAUREEN!_" Collins' shouted. The three girls had to laugh at that.

"Alright, now it's time for _my_ present to Meems," April said. She pulled out three cards from her bra and held them up. "Fake IDs!"

"Ew!" Angel grimaced. Although he and Maureen kissed a lot, he still didn't like girls like that one bit, and anything touching a girl's breasts definitely made things more awkward.

"Oh, that reminds me, Angie," the redhead added as she gave Mimi her card. "I wasn't able to fix this before tonight." She gave Angel his card. It was a picture of Angel out of drag, listed him as a boy, and had his real name too. He didn't care though.

"If anyone asks, I'm a drag queen!" she teased. As far as April concerned, it was a joke.

"Right," Mimi said quietly.

"Hold onto your skirts, ladies," April said, grinning. "Tonight is going to be the best night of our lives."

Little did they know what the night had in store for them...

* * *

_**(A/N: I'm gonna write the next chapter right now only because if I don't, I'm going to forget everything. But the next chapter is going to revolve around what happens to Mimi, April, and Angel because those girls... just don't hate me for what happens to them at the party!)**_


	7. Will I Lose My Dignity?

The club April brought her two best friends to was far downtown. The girls had to walk there; Mimi's mother was out of town for the weekend, celebrating Cinco de Mayo with friends in New York City, and would never agree to take a bunch of fourteen-year-olds to this part of town at any time of day. Colorful lights were beaming out of the club doors. A pale man with sunglasses and his hair tied back in a ponytail spied the three girls and waved at them. He wrapped his arms around April and kissed her forehead. Mimi thought nothing of it, but Angel sensed something wrong. She went along with it though. They all walked up to the door and flashed their fake IDs. The bouncer allowed them through, but he gave Angel a wary look.

"You might wanna watch out, buddy," he warned. "They like pretty little things like you."

"Thanks," she said, putting the card in her jean skirt pocket. She didn't find any comfort in what the bouncer said though. She ended up holding Mimi's hand. Mimi wriggled out of her grasp.

"Angel, act like the twenty-one-year-old that card says you are," she hissed angrily. Angel was shocked at her friend's reaction but let it drop.

"Welcome to the best place in the Alphabet City," The Man told the three girls. "Let's get you all a drink to ease you up." He didn't like how tense Mimi and Angel were. April was looser than usual. She was very handsy tonight, and The Man didn't have much of a problem with that. He ordered three tequila shots and demanded the girls to drink them. Three shots later and the other two were just as loose as April. It was exactly what he needed.

A random man danced up to Angel. He was in his early twenties and one of the most sober people in the building. He reeked of cologne and sweat. He wore a tight undershirt and dark jeans. And his eyes were still on the shy girl, who smiled weakly.

"You wanna dance, pretty thing?" he asked her.

"Sure!" she agreed. She turned to Mimi and giggled. The stranger took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Angel was about to see if her friends wanted to dance too, but they and The Man had disappeared. She didn't really care; she liked to dance. And the way this man was dancing with her made her feel special.

"Oops!" she cried as her fake card fell out of her pocket. The stranger picked it up for her. He grinned as he saw the picture.

"Angel," he read. "That's a pretty name for a pretty girl." He tucked the ID back into her pocket and started grinding against her.

And the bouncer's warning had already slipped her mind in her drunken state.

* * *

The Man stood back with his other clients. The two girls were already heating up the syringe. Mimi helped tie the rubber tubing around April's arm. April slapped her arm until her veins started bulging under her pasty skin. While Mimi did the same thing to her arm while April injected the heroin into her bloodstream. She saved half of it and handed it to her best friend, who greedily shot up. The Man was impressed; for teenagers, they seemed like professionals when it came to using drugs. April and Mimi began searching their purses for money, but The Man held his hand up. The two girls looked at him.

"There is one way you won't have to pay," he told them. The girls were obviously out of it by now, and they seemed willing to do anything to please him. He grinned at this.

"What is it?" April asked.

"Kiss."

And they did. One short, simple kiss. But The Man gave them a look. They started kissing again. It heated up quickly. Mimi fell back onto a couch, pulling her friend down on top of her. They were too high to realize what they were doing.

"Touch her breast."

The shirts were now on the floor. Their bras were in tact as their hands ventured the torso of the other girl.

"Lose the skirts."

And now they were in nothing but their underwear. The Man's clients were becoming more aroused by the minute. But they knew that if they touched these girls, they would lose their connection for good. They were watching a free show, and it was something they couldn't get their hands on. It was all controlled by The Man.

"April, I want you to strip her."

April lifted Mimi up a bit to reach the hook of her bra. It soon dropped to the floor. The redhead eased off the Latina's panties as well. Without being told, Mimi did the same thing to her friend. Now the men were trying their hardest to stay back.

"Put your fingers in her."

Both girls nodded. April used her pointer finger and slowly slid it into Mimi, who cried out in pleasure. A second finger was added. Then a third. Mimi wasn't sober enough to realize what was happening to her. Same with April. The Man was enjoying the power he had over these two. Mimi's body shook and she moaned as an orgasm took control of her.

"Now do the same thing to her."

And they watched hungrily as Mimi returned the favor to April.

* * *

Angel let the stranger lead her up the stairs of the club. She didn't know where he planned on taking her; she didn't think there was anything other than a bar and a dance floor. Maybe it was where April and Mimi were? She was led down a hallway that was almost entirely a dark red blur. Dark red walls. Dark red carpeting. Dark red ceiling. Dark red doors. Some of them had pieces of string tied around them. Others didn't. The stranger led her to a door at the end of the hallway without a string. He pulled some out of his pocket and tied a neat bow on it before pulling Angel inside. There was a large bed and a small dresser. A bathroom adjoined the room.

"What's this, a hotel?" she giggled, letting out a hiccup. Her strange new friend had given her a few more shots of liquor, and her mind was going a little haywire. She turned to her friend to see that he had taken off his undershirt.

"That's one way of putting it." Before she could do anything else, he forced his lips onto hers. It was sloppy and drunk, not like the way Angel and Collins had kissed earlier. She shoved him off when she felt one hand snake its way underneath of her skirt.

"Stop!" she cried. When he tried again, she fell back onto the bed and kicked him in the stomach. "I don't like that!" she protested.

"I didn't ask you whether or not you liked it," he growled in his drunken stupor. He reached for his zipper. Angel watched him undo it in horror.

_They like pretty little things like you._

That's when it registered why the man was so interested in her.

"No!" she shouted, trying to kick at him again. The stranger held her legs down and grabbed her by the front of her shirt. He held on tight to her head as he lowered it and forced himself into her mouth. She started crying as he thrusted in and out, grunting and laughing at the little girl. He thought she was twenty-one. She was far from it.

"You stop crying!" he shouted. "You know you like it you little bitch!" He yanked Angel from his cock, and just when she thought the nightmare was over, he slapped her hard across the face. He sat on top of her and forced her shirt off. She tried hitting back, but he weighed at least seventy pounds more than her.

"Rape!" she tried calling out. She remembered in health class learning that, and Mimi's Boyfriend and Company would jokingly call out "Rape!" whenever they were poked or slapped. This time, it wasn't a game.

"Shut up, you little whore!" Another slap to the face was delivered. She watched the stranger reach for the dresser next to the bed. Something shiny came into view. _Handcuffs._

"Help!" she tried again. She was flipped onto her stomach and her wrists were handcuffed together around the bedpost. She kicked furiously. The stranger was able to remove her platform heels, stockings, and skirt. Her panties were shoved into her mouth as a gag. Her ankles were handcuffed to bedposts as well. She was hopeless now.

"I knew you'd be a tricky one," he said icily. Angel could hear the soft sound of him stripping. She closed her eyes and braced herself for what was going to happen to her next.

* * *

Roger couldn't sleep. He continued looking at his alarm clock. Now it was only one in the morning. In his mind, he could hear Mark documenting this. _May 6, 1984, one AM, Eastern Standard Time. Roger is lying on his back in bed wearing nothing but boxers and having some dream about April while she goes out and actually lives her life._ Roger turned on his bedroom light and picked up his guitar. He played Musetta's Waltz, his favorite song. His mother took him to see _La Boheme_ one summer. He was mesmorized by the song and it was the one song he could remember by heart. Good thing his mother was a heavy sleeper, or else he wouldn't be able to play music late at night without being yelled at.

There was a knock on his window. He looked to see April out there. Her lips were bright red and her pupils were very dilated. He opened the window and helped her climb in.

"Hey baby," she whispered.

"What brings you here at this time of night?" he asked.

"You." She leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled away and smiled. "Do you wanna have some fun?"

"Please," he nearly begged. "I'm bored out of my mind."

"Have you smoked before?"

"Cigarettes and marijuana with Collins sometimes."

"Well, this is sort of like that, but it feels _much_ better." April opened her purse to reveal a clear bag of white powder, her syringe that she shared with Mimi already that night, and rubber tubing. He watched his girlfriend fill the syringe partically.

"Gotta light?" she asked. He grabbed a lighter from his bedside table and gave it to her. She tied the tubing around his bicep and slapped his arm lightly a few times until the veins became more visible.

"Make a fist." Roger obeyed her. April heated up the smack and injected it gently into Roger's arm. He felt the effect in a short amount of time.

"Whoa," he breathed.

"I know, baby," April cooed. "And that's just the beginning." She pushed Roger onto his back and ferociously kissed him. He flipped them around so she was the one of his back. She started stripping herself and Roger looked at her. Were they ready for that?

"I'm on the pill," she whispered huskily. Roger smiled before slipping his boxers off and flipping off the light switch.

* * *

Mimi pulled on his sweater slowly. She never felt so crappy before in her life. April was long gone. The other pigs in the room were long gone. The Man was long gone, but not before handing her crisp hundred dollar bills, a cloth, her own syringe, and a few bags of smack. She tucked the money and drug into her purse. The cloth was used to get the stains of the older men off of her skin. They didn't touch her, yet they all had a lack of self control, and the two girls were close enough to them to get messy. Mimi had to force herself to look at her own reflection. She was dirty. She was a useless, filthy pawn. She was high. Now that she was sober, bits and pieces of what she had done came back to her mind.

And she couldn't believe that she allowed herself to do such things.

Mimi suddenly remembered her best friend. _Angel_. What the hell happened to her. The Latina checked her bag for the Swiss army knife and mace her mother instructed her to carry around for protection. Fortunately, she remembered to bring both with her. Mimi went up to the bartender and asked where Angel was, describing her to the best she could remember; her memory of the past few hours was still fuzzy. He told her to look upstairs and to be very careful of what she finds. Mimi nodded and went upstairs to the dark red abyss. She saw many doors, with and without string on them. She then noticed the man who danced with Angel exit the last door on the left and leave hastily. Once he was out of sight, she ran to the door and burst through it.

She almost threw up at the sight in front of her.

Angel was bound by her wrists and ankles to the bedposts, completely vulnerable. Her bright pink panties were in her mouth. Her clothes and shoes were strewn across the room. Her best friend was bruised on her face, back, legs, and rear. Her favorite wig was still on her head. And she was crying harder than ever before.

"Oh my god, Chica!" Mimi cried. She shut the door and locked it, in case the stranger decided to come back. Mimi searched the dresser drawers until she found the key for the handcuffs. She freed Angel from boundage and shut away the silver death traps from her sight. She removed the underwear from her friend's mouth and helped her sit up. She almost cried when Angel winced when she sat upright. More bruises on her arms and chest. It was a horrific sight for the teen.

"I said no," Angel choked out softly. "I tried screaming, but he shoved them in my mouth..." She let out a sob. Mimi threw her arms around her best friend and cried with her.

"I'm so sorry I let this happen!" she sobbed. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"What happened to you?"

"I..." Mimi was too cowardly to reveal to her friend that she was on drugs and unable mentally to have saved her friend from being raped. "April drugged me," she said. And it was true in a sense. This all led back to when April first introduced Mimi to smack. It had to be.

"Can we go home?" Angel asked hoarsely. Mimi nodded and helped her dress. She was practically like a ragdoll now. She didn't want to move anymore. She was a zombie. Mimi forced the Swiss army knife into her friend's hands.

"For protection," she said. "It's not safe here late at night." Angel just nodded and used Mimi as a crutch as the two girls left the club. The bouncer shot them an apologetic look; he was used to this scenario after seeing it hundreds of times before.

Mimi knew that Angel didn't want to come. But she pressured her into this. Now she felt guilty for what happened to her friend. She allowed that to happen. It wasn't supposed to end this way. Mimi wasn't supposed to touch April. That man wasn't supposed to even see Angel. All she wanted was to feel good and go home. And she felt like total shit.

"Can we stay home on Monday?" Angel asked.

"Yes," Mimi answered, nodding her head.

They weren't ready to face the world now that they've seen the ugly side of it.


	8. You Okay Honey?

For some odd reason, Mark didn't feel like taking his camera to school that Monday. Something in his gut just felt wrong. He had his mother take his temperature to make sure he wasn't sick- there must have been something wrong if he didn't want to take his camera with him- but she said he was fine. Cindy happened to walk by that moment and snorted, saying that there was nothing normal about her little brother. He just stuck out his tongue at her and hid his face behind his favorite blue-and-white scarf as his older sister drove him to Scarsdale Junior High School. He exitted the car without saying anything still. He dragged himself to his usual table where his friends were all sitting. Now he knew something was _definitely_ wrong; while Benny, Collins, and Maureen were staring at the table in eery silence, Roger was wide awake, grinning from ear to ear. Mark slightly regretted leaving his camera behind for a moment, only because this would never happen again in their lifetime. Maybe it was Opposite Day and he never received the memo?

"So, why are you so happy-go-lucky?" he asked his best friend.

"Because April came over my house Saturday night, and we finally did it!" Roger boasted. He held his hand up to high-five one of his friends. None of them were in the high-fiving mood at the moment. Roger just nodded and put his hand away.

"Have you been able to get a hold of Mimi?" Maureen asked Benny, her voice cracking slightly.

"She disconnected her landline," he answered.

"Angel did too. I'm starting to get worried about them."

"I think they're fine," Collins answered. He smiled slightly; he couldn't believe that the girl of his dreams was his first kiss. He had even told Maureen that whatever she did, he was eternally grateful for it. And she could only smile. She didn't know how he would react to finding out that the girl of his dreams was actually a drag queen.

"No, they're not," Mark and Maureen admitted at the come time. Everyone else looked at them in confusion.

"How would you know?" Benny asked. Naturally, he was concerned for his girlfriend's well-being.

"Because I saw them outside Saturday, after we got home," Maureen said first. "First, it was all three girls. But later, I thought I heard something strange something outside, and I saw Angel and Mimi. Angel's clothes were torn... he couldn't even walk without Mimi helping him..." Maureen covered her mouth with her hand and let out a sob.

"I picked up the phone on Sunday," Mark began. "I didn't know that Cindy was using it, but before I could hang up, I heard what Angel's sister, Nicole, was saying. She said that Angel hasn't left her room since he came home from Mimi's on Sunday morning."

"Guys, I think something was wrong with April too," Roger confessed lightly. He knew what was wrong with her; she was on drugs. But so was he, and telling them that she was would make them suspicious of him too. He had to up his guard now.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," Benny said sternly. "I'm going to Mimi's house after school."

"I'll go with you," the filmmaker volunteered. "For moral support."

"I'll get to Angel somehow," Maureen said. "I know where sh-he lives."

"I wanna go with you," Collins said.

"Collins, I know you mean well, but I'm not sure that-"

"Mo, I'm going," the anarchist said strongly. His best friend nodded silently. She knew fighting him was pointless.

"Then I guess I'll handle April," Roger said. In his mind, he knew the other reason why he was going to see her. He needed another hit of whatever that stuff was, and she was the only connection she had.

"Um, you guys?" Joanne asked meekly behind the group. They turned to see her and Alison standing there. Alison was transfixed on her shoes, too shy to communicate with her enemies.

"Hey, Jo," Mark greeted her, kissing her on the cheek. He could sense the same negativity that was cast upon the rest of them.

"Can we... sit with you guys?" she asked. One by one, they all nodded. Joanne and Alison sat between Mark and Benny. Neither of them were smiling.

"Where's your girlfriends and boyfriend?" Alison asked quietly.

"Not here," Maureen responded.

"We drive past their homes every day we come to school," she continued. "Angel was burning something in a metal trashcan in his front yard. And Mimi was shoving April out of her front door. I thought you guys should know."

"Thanks, Muf- Alison," Benny said, rubbing her back to comfort. The blonde smiled a bit at that. It was much better than them making her leave them alone or calling her Muffy, like Benny almost ended up doing.

The first bell rang. All seven of them slowly rose to their feet and trudged on to their first period classes. It seemed all out of place. Everyone else was acting as if nothing had happened. The absences of Angel, April, and Mimi unphased all of the other eighth graders. Why weren't they affected too, they wondered. The first class they shared, health, was the first thing that was different than usual. Miss Darling was absent today. They were all given packets on different sexualities instead. No one made their usual jokes to each other about who was or wasn't gay.

Maureen, however, was interested in it; it answered the question she had about her own. She wasn't straight. She wasn't a lesbian. She was bisexual.

And Joanne wondered what she was the whole time.

The other time they all were in the same class wasn't even a class; it was lunch hour. They all met outside again and ate at the table. Roger was the first to try to make a joke to cheer them all up. It worked out. No one was mean to anyone else, but they were teasing their new and old friends, or cracking on teachers and fellow classmates. By the time it was their next classes, all seven of them were laughing again. Mark and Roger stopped laughing once they reached history class; there were two Hispanics missing a few rows back from their seats. And they remembered why they weren't laughing before.

Once the final bell rang, they all met out front one last time. Mark gave Joanne a goodbye kiss and promised to call her to tel her if Mimi was okay. Maureen and Joanne exchanged numbers, the diva promising the same deal with Angel. April said she'd stay with Joanne and the phone until she was certain the others were fine. Roger said that April should be okay, if anything, shaken from whatever dispute she and her best friend had earlier today. The two girls went into their limosuine and headed to the Jefferson's home.

Benny and Mark took their bikes as Benny led the way to Mimi's house.

Maureen said she knew a quicker route to where Angel lives and took Collins with her.

Roger snuck onto April's bus and got off at her stop. He knocked on her front door and waited until the redhead opened it.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you okay, babe?" he asked. "I heard you and Mimi are fighting. Did something happen?"

"It wasn't my fault," April said. "She wanted to get high, and she blames me for her decision."

"So, you're fighting because she was being stupid?"

"In a nutshell."

"... She didn't make you get rid of any of it though, right?" Roger felt a random itch where his trackmark was. April took notice and smiled.

"You want another hit, don't you?" she smirked.

"Is that too much to ask for?" the rocker asked timidly.

"Not at all, babe." April leaned forward and kissed Roger on the lips. "All you need to do is ask, and I'm yours." She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him inside before slamming the door shut.

* * *

Benny knocked three times on Mimi's front door. Mark stood behind him, unsure of what to do with himself. He felt out of place coming to help Benny's girlfriend. But following his ex-girlfriend to her current boyfriend's house was even worse, and April just didn't make him feel right at all. Benny was wringing his hands together. He was beyond nervous about seeing Mimi. She opened the door after a minute had passed. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying all day. When she saw Benny, she began tearing up again and just collapsed into his arms.

"It's alright, Meems, we're here for you," he coaxed as he patted her head and hugged her tight. She led the two boys inside and upstairs to her room. Mark smiled the picture of Mimi and Angel squishing Benny.

"I can't believe you saved that," Benny chuckled.

"How could I not?" his girlfriend said, forcing a smile. "It was one of the best days of my life. Better than Saturday..." Mimi sniffled and sat down. "Oy vey, Saturday..."

"Mimi, I know we're not close, but you need to listen to me," Mark said calmly. The Latina just nodded. Benny put her arms around her for comfort.

"It's gonna be alright, babygirl," he whispered.

"Where did you go after we all left?" Mark questioned.

"A club downtown," Mimi answered quietly. "April said that it was my present from her."

"How'd you get in if you're only fourteen?"

"This man... I don't know who he is, but he let us all in. He made us fake IDs too. I threw mine away yesterday."

"What did this man do to you?"

"First, he gave us all drinks. He said we were too tight for him."

"Too tight?" Benny asked. "What the hell-"

"_Benny_," Mark cut him off sternly. Benny nodded; he knew yelling wouldn't help out.

"And then he took us to this room," Mimi continued. "He gave us these drugs and had us take them." She rolled up she sleeve a bit to reveal the point where the needle went through; fortunately, it was lower than the others so the boys wouldn't see her other ones.

"You took drugs?" Benny gasped.

"I didn't want to," Mimi said, letting out a sob. "And then he made me and April touch each other while these other guys touched themselves watching us... I felt so used and dirty." She was blubbering now, talking through all of the tears. "And she just left. April left and I had to clean myself."

"Did anyone touch you guys?" Mark asked gently. The Latina shook her head.

"That's not the worse part," she added, her voice shaking. "When me and April... there was this guy who though Angel was pretty. He wanted to dance with he-him. And then he..." She had to fight herself to finish this part of the story. "He took her upstairs... Angel tried to say no... he screamed for help..." She broke down now. She hated reliving this, but she had to say it now or forever hold her peace. "By the time I found Angel, it was too late." She curled up in a ball in Benny's lap and cried into his shirt. The two boys were wide-eyed and knew exactly what happened now.

"Oh my god," they whispered in horror.

* * *

Angel rocked himself gently on his bed. He was scared to go outside now. He thought that if he stepped outside, the stranger would see him and try to get to him again. He did go out earlier, only to burn the clothes he wore that night. His favorite skirt had been a part of the outfit, but after what happened to him, he despised it with a passion. Nicole fortunately covered for him, saying that she saw her little brother throwing up in the bathroom this morning and to leave him alone until he felt better. He was glad the excuse worked, but he knew that after a while, he would have to face the world again. Right now, he preferred hiding from it.

The doorbell rang. Angel threw his covers over his head. What if the stranger followed him home and now knew where he lived?

"He's upstairs," he heard Nicole tell someone. "I'm not sure if he wants company, but you can try... He's been in hiding for two days now, so good luck." Shortly thereafter, his bedroom door opened. He peeked out from under the blankets to see Maureen and Collins. He slowly sat up.

It didn't click once that Collins was about to discover the truth.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked hoarsely.

"We know something is wrong," Collins spoke first. "And we're here to find out what-"

"Please, don't," the Latino begged. "I don't want to talk about it at all."

"Angel, sweetie, you don't have an option here," Maureen said. She locked the bedroom door and sat beside her boyfriend. "Please, honey, talk."

"Okay..." He didn't say anything though. There was no way to begin this story.

"We know April did something," the diva helped out. "And I saw you guys walking somewhere. Where'd you go."

"This club," he finally answered. "April and Mimi begged me to agree to go with them, so I said yes, naturally. They're my best friends, right?" Angel let out a bitter laugh; were they his friends?

"How could you have gotten in?"

"April had fake IDs made for us, and some guy let us in too." He shook as an invisible chill went down his spine. "The bouncer looked at me and said, 'You might wanna watch out, buddy. They like pretty little things like you.'"

"Then what happened?" Maureen pressed.

"The guy April was with gave us three shots. And this man..." Angel shuddered again. "He asked me if I wanted to dance. I-I didn't think it was anything bad. I dropped my ID and he picked it up and smiled..." He stopped the story here. He didn't want to go on further.

"Angel," Maureen said sternly. "Honey, you need to talk to us. Please."

"He told me," he willed himself to continue, "'That's a pretty name for a pretty girl.'"

_Girl...?_ Collins thought.

"And he kept on giving me more drinks," Angel said, trying his hardest not to cry. "And he took me upstairs. I didn't realize what was going on until I turned around and he was taking his clothes off." He shut his eyes at the memory. "It tasted so gross," he whispered.

"You mean he...?" Collins felt like throwing up.

"He told me to stop crying," the Latino said in a whisper. "He slapped me and ripped my clothes off... He shoved my panties in my mouth and handcuffed me to the bed..." He rubbed his hands over his chapped, raw wrists. There were still cuts from where he tried fighting the restraints.

"Did he... use protection?" Maureen asked. She was trying to not cry herself.

"I don't remember," Angel admitted. "But... it hurt so bad..." A tear fell onto his pantleg. "I didn't know if he was ever going to stop. But he just left me like that and walked away... Mimi found me... Oh, Mimi..." Now he was bawling, but he had to get this off of his chest. "April had her drugged, and she wasn't even able to help me... We had to walk home... it hurt so bad."

"That's why you unplugged your phone?" Maureen asked. Angel nodded.

"I thought that he found me and was gonna come back," he said. "I know he's out there, and he's gonna find me and do it again." He felt a different pair of arms around him. They belonged to Collins.

"It's okay," he said soothingly. "It's all over now. He can't hurt you."

"Th-thanks," Angel said. "Why are you being nice to me though?"

"What do you mean?"

"You should hate me!" Angel shoved Collins off.

"What?" Collins was confused.

"I didn't get raped because I had a fake ID!" Angel grabbed his wig and put it on his head with great frustration. "It's because I'm not a girl!"

"What?" This time, it came out in hurt. Collins couldn't believe it. Angie was a... _boy?_

"I'm a transvestite!" Angel shouted. He ripped his wig off and threw it on the ground. "I'm faggot, queer, drag queen Angel Dumott Schunard, and the only reason why I never said anything to you was because I liked you!" He fell onto the ground and started wailing. He punched the wall until his knuckles bled. Maureen and Collins gaped at him.

"Oh my god," Maureen said quietly.

"How long have you known?" Collins asked Maureen.

"What?"

"You knew about this, and you never told me? I thought you were my friend!" Collins stormed out of the room with Maureen right behind him.

"Collins, I'm your _best_ friend! It's not what you think it is!" Their shouts could be heard until they left the Dumott Schunard residence. Angel continued staying on the floor and being hysterical. He hadn't only screwed up his life and the possibility of being remotely closer to normal, but he probably ruined his chances of even talking to Collins ever again.

"Why do I fuck everything up?" he sobbed. "What did I do to deserve this?"


	9. Contact

A boy.

Angie is a boy.

Angie isn't even real; she's Angel.

Angel.

His first kiss went to Angel.

A boy.

Collins' mind went awry after that. Maureen told him that she was trying to help out Angel and Collins. Because Angel wanted to kiss Collins. And Collins wanted to kiss "Angie". Both of those things happened, but then Angel told him the truth and then had a tantrum on the floor. Collins was sure that he'd be fine living with the lie rather than the truth... at first.

But then he kept on thinking about that kiss. The passion. The fire. The way he fell into it as if he had kissed other people before. He practically melted into it. The way Angel's tongue slithered its way into his mouth. The deep, throaty moaning. All of it created a spark in Collins. That night, it was the only thing on his mind. He couldn't explain to his parents why he couldn't stop smiling.

But did that make him... gay?

It was a concept that Collins couldn't grasp. But that seemed to be the only logical explanation for these feelings.

He had to talk to Angel.

Tuesday morning began like every other morning. Roger was face-down on the table, half-conscious. Maureen was begging Mark to film her, which he declined as politely as he could muster. Benny and Collins were thinking of something to do to Roger while he was asleep that would be hilarious. April showed up today and woke up her boyfriend with a kiss before skipping away. No one asked her about Saturday- Roger told everyone that she was in his bed, which wasn't a total lie- or why Angel and Mimi wasn't with her. Roger put his head back down almost instantly. A few minutes later, the two Hispanics walked hand-in-hand with grim expressions on their faces. Collins wanted to tell Angel something, _anything_, but thought that he should wait until he could do it more privately.

"Mo, we need to talk," Angel said quietly.

"Us too, Benny," Mimi said.

They took their boyfriend or girlfriend away from the group just as Alison and Joanne arrived. They sat down between Collins and Roger silently. The rocker let out a loud snore before waking himself up.

"Oh, hey guys," he yawned. "Where'd Benny and Maureen go?"

"That way," the others answered, pointing to both of the people mentioned. At that moment, they both returned and sat down with their eyes glued to the ground. Collins looked to see Angel and Mimi hold hands again as they walked inside of the school building without saying anything else to the rest of the group.

"He broke up with me," Maureen said before crying. She grabbed onto the nearest person- Roger- and clung onto him tight. He stiffened at that.

"Mimi said that under the circumstances, a relationship isn't the best idea for her," Benny told the others. "And I fully understand where she's coming from."

"Now the only ones in our group with a girlfriend are me and Cohen," Roger noted.

"What is wrong with the universe?" Maureen wailed.

"Thanks," Mark muttered.

"Well, at least one of us even has a shot at getting a girlfriend too," Roger said. He looked pointedly at Collins.

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yeah dude. I mean, after that intense make out session you had with Angie, there's no doubt that you're gonna end up going out with her."

_Is that gonna happen to me and Angel?_

"I dunno, man," Collins said. "We'll see." With that, the bell rang, and everyone went to their classes.

Collins couldn't focus in a single one of them. He just thought about Angel. How'd he miss all of the signs? The dreamy look in the Latino's eyes when they first laid upon the anarchist. How he turned to Mimi and giggled after every time he would look at Collins. Why he freaked out when he was in drag at Subway and refused to speak English. The striking similarity of "Angie" and "Angel". When Angel, Maureen, and Mimi were all giving mixed answers about whether or not Angel or "Angie" would show up Saturday. "Angie" was there, but "Angel" wasn't.

When he first walked into health class later that day, he smiled at the Latino. His eyes widened and then stared at his desk for a good ten minutes. Fortunately, Miss Darling was absent again, and they were all given packets. The substitute said that they could work in pairs. Collins decided to seize the opportunity and got Angel's attention before Mimi even had the chance.

"Please," he said, "I want to work with you."

"Okay," Angel said quietly, still staring at the desk.

"I guess I'll work with Benny," Mimi sighed. In the end, she was stuck with Mark because Benny chose Alison, and her back-up was Maureen, who chose Joanne. Roger paired up with April without any hesitation. Collins had to drag his desk over next to Angel's and trapped him in his seat. He seemed to recoil from Collins and hugged his knees to his chest.

"I was hoping we could talk?" Collins whispered. The Latino bit his lip and slowly nodded.

"The first answer is B," he said. Collins chuckled at that.

"I mean about Mimi's party," the anarchist said.

"I don't want to."

"I know, but I..." Collins pulled off his beanie and ran his fingers through his short hair. He didn't know how to explain this. He ended up staring at the boy. His creamy, caramel skin. The perfect pair of soft lips. His dark coffee bean colored eyes that had a tiny gleam in them. The little pout he was giving right now. It wasn't until Angel gave him a funny look that he blinked and looked away.

"Is there something that you're trying to tell me, Collins?" he asked.

And the way he pronounced his name... Collins had to smile at that.

"I felt something Saturday," he began.

"Well sorry to crush your hetero dreams, but I think you're barking up the very wrong tree," Angel said. He picked up his pencil and started working on the multiple choice questions.

"It's not that, it's-"

"Why don't you just do the packet?" Angel slammed his pencil down by its eraser end, causing it to bounce over to the side. The Latino groaned and bent down for his writing utensil. Collins looked at the boy bending over and his eyes locked on the strange birthmark peaking out from the low waistband of Angel's grey sweatpants. It was like a perfect heart, at the top of the boys bum. He glanced at his own paper before Angel could even realize it.

"Alright, class," the substitute called out. "Turn in your papers here. You have one minute before the bell rings." Collins pulled his desk out a bit to let Angel out. For a few seconds, he was staring at Angel's hips as they slightly shook back and forth, taunting Collins. He snapped out of his trance to turn in his papers and made it back in time to get Angel's attention again.

"What do you want Collins?" Angel snapped.

"Like I said, we need to talk about Saturday," Collins said. The bell rang, freeing the students from class to go to lunch. Collins grabbed Angel's wrist and led him outside the school; the gang decided on lunch at the Life Café, so he knew that someone would inform Mimi, and maybe Alison and Joanne too.

"Ow, you're hurting my wrist!" the drag queen winced as he was led under a stairwell. Collins then forced him against the wall and pinned him so he couldn't move.

"Sorry, but this is the only way we can talk," the anarchist apologized.

"Please don't," Angel begged. Collins could see the fear in his eyes and knew where they came from; Saturday night. He backed away and gave Angel some space.

"I'm not here to out you or anything if that's what you think," Collins insisted.

"I know you mean well, honey, but right now, my head isn't in the right place, and I need to have some personal space from people," Angel said. "I mean, I felt something Saturday, but when you came over yesterday, I just lost it. You needed to know the truth. And living in a lie at the moment was just too much. If I scare you now, that's fine. But please... just leave me alone."

"Okay," Collins agreed. "But on one condition."

"What?"

"You join us all for lunch at the Life Café." He grinned and Angel let himself smile a bit.

"I didn't expect it any other way," he said.

"My friends are waiting," Collins said. He felt flustered at the moment.

Angel rested a hand on Collins cheek. "You're cute when you blush."

* * *

Mimi excused herself to the bathroom while the group laughed over the time Maureen snuck into Mark's house one day, struck a cowbell in his face in his sleep, and caused the boy to wet himself in fear. She grabbed her bookbag and clung on tight. She was scared that it would fall over and everything of hers would spill out, including the smack. She went into the last stall and looked underneath of the stall doors to see if anyone else was there. She was all alone.

_Touch. Taste. Deep. Dark._

The Man's words lingered in her ear as she pulled out all of the things she needed. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and tied the rubber tubing around her upper arm.

_Kiss. Beg. Slap._

She put the fine white powder in the syringe and heated it up with the lighter she stole from her mother last week.

_Fear. Thick. Red, red- please!_

The words of several other mean grunting as they pleasured themselves to two fourteen-year-olds. Ironically, Mimi was still thirteen; her real birthday was the ninth. They celebrated on the fifth. Today was the eighth.

_Harder. Faster. Wetter. Bastard._

Mimi shook her head. She felt vile rise in her throat at those disgusting words. She quinted her eyes shut, but the visions came into sight. April. The Man. Those strangers. The man who took her best friend's innocence by force.

_You whore. You cannibal. More. You animal._

She put the needle into her arm.

_Fluid no. Contact yes. Fire, burn- yes!_

She injected the liquid into her veins.

And the voices were suddenly nonexistant.


	10. See if Anything Comes of It

Angel walked briskly past the club he had been to last week. He finally was able to figure out the name of it when he saw the unlit sign- CGBG. He shuddered; he was never going back to that place as long as he lived. Or, at least, until he was twenty-one with another guy that wouldn't take her upstairs. He had to bite his lip and fight back tears now. No, he would never go back. He needed to stay as far away from there as possible. The only reason he came through here in the first place is because the shortcut he usually took to Mimi's house was blocked off for a construction site and the only other way was through downtown. He took his best friend's strict advice and carried a switch blade in his jean pocket. No way was he letting any thug or pervert getting to him.

He saw the familiar shape of a girl that he hadn't talked to anymore. April. In reality, it's been nine days since they've talked. In girl world, that's an eternity. And there was the scumbag man who had brought them into CGBG too, kissing her cheek and slipping some money and something else unfamiliar to the Latino into her hand. She put them into her purse and waved goodbye as he left. She was barely dressed; grey cropped top, denim mini skirt that barely covered her, as the pink fabric underneath was very visible as well, and very high leather boots. She saw Angel and gave him a grim smile.

"Hey, bestie," she greeted him.

"Don't call me that," he snarled. "Do you know what you've done? Do you know what happened to me?"

"Angel, I don't know," April said innocently.

"Of course not, I forgot, you were too high!" the boy snapped angrily.

"Angel, please, hear me out!"

He didn't say anything. He knew that he should've just kept on walking to Mimi's house as he originally intended to. Instead, he kept on standing there and nodded for the redhead to continue speaking.

"Yes, I was high," she confessed. "And it's something that I can't help! It makes me forget any pain that I have. And ever since you and Mimi stopped talking to me, I need it now more than ever. Can't you understand that?"

"Chica, you're downtown, _barely dressed_, and you think that I'm all of a sudden understanding of how crappy your life has become?" Angel asked, laughing. "You must be high, because you did this to yourself. Meems and I are separating ourselves from you before you try to do something else to us." He tried to keep on walking, but April grabbed his arm and used all of her strength to yank him back. He shook her off, but the desperation in her eyes made him decide to wait and listen to what else she had to say.

"Mimi is an addict too," she said in almost a whisper. "And I take full responsibility, but I wasn't thinking straight. She wanted to try it. I didn't think of the consequences."

"She... she said you drugged her," Angel spluttered. His Mimi was an addict? That's impossible. She's too sweet and innocent.

"She was under the influence, but I wasn't the one who made her do anything the night," April insisted. "I swear on my life, she was all for it! And The Man was the one who made us do things to each other. If she wanted to, she could have left the club and gone home, but she chose to stay."

"You're lying!" Angel cried. "You stay away from us!"

"You're lying to yourself because you don't want to believe that Mimi left you behind for you to be raped."

_Smack_.

April was now facing the brick building beside her as she was backhanded by the Latino before her. She held her hands to her swelling cheek and hissed in pain. She turned back to a furious Angel.

"She would never let something like that happen to me," he said, tears in his eyes. "Don't you ever say that. Mimi would never desert me like that."

"Then go and look though her purse. She had the drugs in there. She's as bad as I am, and you deserve to know the truth."

"Do you want to know the truth? You're a prostitute and an addict," Angel spat.

"And you got raped because you're an innocent fourteen-year-old drag queen," April replied as bitterly as him. "When you find out the truth, don't come crying to me." A car pulled over on the side of the road and the window rolled down. A cloud of smoke slipped out and dissolved in the air. Angel coughed and waved it from his face.

"How much?" the man inside asked April.

"Depends on what you want, big boy," she answered seductively as she got into the car. She gave Angel one last look before driving away with the older man. Angel watched in disgust.

_Mimi isn't an addict,_ he thought to himself as he continued walking to Mimi's house. _She could never. April is playing mind games. You can't let her get to your head. Don't let her get to your head. She's just guilty because she was caught red-handed. No way Mimi could use drugs._

* * *

Maureen walked up the stairs of the Collinses' home to her best friend's room. For the past week, he'd been acting very peculiar. He'd called her and asked her to come over. Even though it was five PM on a Sunday night, she came over. She suspected it had something to do with Sex Ed. They'd been learning about different types of relationships in the class, and she saw him sneaking glances over at Angel throughout the entire class.

_Maybe he was... no, he couldn't be. Could he?_

She knocked on Collins' bedroom door. She heard a loud thud and giggled; he was usually asleep every time she came on by, and then ended up falling on the floor before he answered the door. And she had guessed right; he revealed himself in a white undershirt, boxers, and no hat.

"Good morning," she teased, ruffling his unkempt hair. "Did I wake you?"

"No, but the floor does a better job at it than coffee," he replied sarcastically. "Come on into my humble abode." Maureen stepped into the neat room and jumped on to the bed.

"So, what's up, buttercup?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Collins replied as he rubbed his eyes and sat down next to her.

"You're the one who called me over," the drama queen giggled. "Isn't there something that you want to tell me...?"

"... Oh! Right," the anarchist remembered.

"You're exceptionally smart when you wake up," she teased again. Her smile faded when she saw the serious look in his eyes.

"Mo, no matter what, you're my best friend in the whole world, right?" he began.

"Oh my god, are you moving?" Maureen cried.

"No-"

"Do you have a fatal disease? No, wait, you got caught hacking the school computers and they're sending you to prison, aren't they? Because if you-"

"MAUREEN!" Collins shouted over her. "It's none of that. Damn girl, let me get a sentence in." He took a deep breath and looked into his best friend's eyes. "Mo, I think I'm gay."

"Wait, what?" she replied. She wrinkled her nose. "What do you mean, you _think_ you're gay?"

"I... Ever since that kiss... I can't stop thinking about him!" Collins stood up and let out a laugh. "I mean, it was so hot!"

"Honey, everyone thinks that about their first kiss," Maureen said.

"But sometimes I keep on seeing Angel as a girl when I think about it."

"Okay." Maureen pulled him back down on to the bed. "Now, let's analyze this a bit. You like Angel for who he is seen as or who she really is?"

"... Can you rephrase that?" Collins asked. The diva groaned.

"Are you attracted to him as a boy or a girl?" Before he could even answer, she cut him off. "You know what? Scratch that, because I've seen you check him out in class before. And don't you dare say that you weren't!"

"Do you know that he has a birthmark on his butt?" Collins twisted his body and pointed to the same place where it was on Angel's body. "And it's shaped like a heart too!"

"That doesn't really answer my question," Maureen pointed out.

He groaned. "Mo, I don't know the answer! I'm not sure if I'm gay, straight... I just don't know."

"Okay, how about this? I'm going to kiss you, and if you feel anything, then we'll know that you're straight," Maureen suggested. "If not, then you're definitely not straight."

"How is that going to help anyone but your horny self?" Collins asked.

"Well, for starters, if you really like it, your guy reflexes will kick in and you'll probably end up grabbing other places," she answered, wiggling her eyebrows. Collins rolled his eyes at his friend's grotesque perverted nature. "And from what I saw at Mimi's party, it seems like you're a really good kisser!"

"Fine, fine, you win!" he caved. "Just do it and get it over with before-!"

Maureen crashed her lips onto Collins'. He froze, unsure of what to do. She bit his lip. She groaned. Her hands went to his shoulders. She was barely successful at getting her tongue passed his lips. But Collins didn't feel anything other than a slimy tongue in his mouth. There was no passion, no spark like Angel made him feel. After a while, Maureen finally caught on and retracted her mouth from his.

"So, now we know the answer," she said. "Collins, you are definitely gay."

"Right," Collins said. "I'm gay." He repeated that a few times. "I'm gay. My name is Thomas B. Collins, and I am gay. I'm gay, and I'm in love with Angel Dumott Schunard."

Maureen leaned over and hugged her best friend. "That's right; you are, baby."

* * *

"Alright, dancers, that's enough for today!" Miss Porter announced as she hit the stop button on the stereo. The others paused from their dancing and went to grab their bags. It took Mark and Joanne a few more counts to realize that the music had stopped playing and blushed heavily. Miss Porter watched the two with amusement. They were still in junior high, yet they showed the dedication and skills of the senior group members. They were absolutely flawless.

"Cohen! Jefferson!" she called out to the younger students. "Come here for a minute. I want to talk to you about something."

Two eager, worn out kids appeared before her. She waited until the twenty other students grabbed their dance bags and left the studio.

"Did we do something wrong?" Mark asked.

"The very opposite, actually," she answered. "In fact, you two hit every count and bring the flare to this studio that I haven't seen in years."

"Thank you," the dancers responded, sheepish smiles on their faces.

"You two know about the upcoming studio recital, correct?" she continued. They nodded. "Well, I've been looking for a duet to do a tango dance from my classes, and I believe that you two are perfect for it."

"Really?"

"Yes. I want you two to come in an hour earlier next week so we can start your practicing. The recital is the second Saturday of June, so you should be able to perfect it by then."

"Thank you, Miss Porter!" they chirped. They kept themselves collected until they got outside of the studio. Then they squealed in delight. Mark hugged Joanne and spun her around before kissing her.

"We're gonna be the featured tango dancers!" Joanne said, still in shock.

"And you thought I was gonna slack off and make us look bad," Mark teased, poking her in the stomach.

"I was so wrong! We're gonna kick ass!" They grinned and high-fived before kissing each other goodbye and heading home. Of course, they called each other immediately and continued squealing over being picked as featured dancers.


	11. To Absolut, to Choice

_**(A/N: OMG I'M SO SORRY I'M LATE ON UPDATING THIS! I've been distracted because I was reading the best book ever- "Without You" by ANTHONY RAPP! It's so inspirational and great and... I know some intimate things about him that you would never expect. And I might try to incorporate things I've read in it into the story because there were such great parts! Anywho, here's the next chapter...)**_

* * *

"May 14, 1984, seven AM, Eastern Standard Time. We're all praying that this week turns out... different then the week before. At least Mo isn't convinced that the world is going to end because she's single and Roger and me have girlfriends. Maybe _if she wasn't such a tease_, we'd still be a couple and wouldn't be crying about it all the time. She might actually lose it if Angie and Collins end up going out-"

"Not going to happen," Collins groaned. "Trust me man, it's never going to work out."

"She's got a new man?" Benny asked.

"How would you even know whether or not she's single?"

"Because she'd hang out with Mimi and me when we dated. She would bring her boyfriends with her sometimes."

Naturally, Mimi and Angel didn't tell Benny that Angel was a drag queen. April, Collins, and Maureen were the only ones who knew the truth.

"Well, at least I have a girlfriend who wants to have sex with me," Roger added as he lazily lifted his head off of the table. He gave Mark a sly grin. "I bet Doc-"

"_Joanne_," Mark interrupted with a glare at his best friend.

"I bet _Joanne_ doesn't get in bed with you," the rocker continued. "After what Maureen said last week, I think she's too scared to even look at you."

Mark turned a bright shade of pink at that. Last week, they learned about male and female genitalia. Maureen, being her usual loud-mouth self, asked an irritated Miss Darling random questions throughout the entire week. And right after getting an answer (if she was given one) she'd look right at Mark and shout something for the entire room to laugh at. Roger would lean across the aisle to punch his shoulder while Benny hit the top of his head. Collins would wait until after lunch to tease him. At lunch, when they all sat outside- a new thing for them, the five friends would sit with Joanne and Alison- Joanne became more awkward. Mark ended up apologizing after school over the phone for Maureen's abrasive personality.

"Hey, Meems!" Maureen shouted as Angel and Mimi walked by. "Hey, Angel!"

They only waved. They'd been avoiding the group for the most part. Maureen didn't get the hint sometimes that they wanted to be alone, and the two didn't want to be mean to the confused diva. Collins tried his hardest to get to Angel, but Angel constantly brushed him off. The poor Latino was still going through the aftershock of that night. The other three just respected their wishes.

"I feel so bad for them," Alison remarked as she and Joanne sat down at the table. "It's like they've all shut down."

"They may as well have," Roger added. "They're just total messes now. April said they won't talk to her anymore, and that Angel slapped her the last time they spoke."

"That's harsh!"

"No, it's okay. She says that Angel wasn't too strong to hurt her."

"I'd never hit you," Mark assured Joanne, kissing her cheek.

"Can you two be any more sweeter?" Maureen gushed. "I can't wait until you're dance recital!"

"That should be really interesting," Benny teased.

"I've seen them practice," Alison said. "They're really good."

"Better than Nanette," the filmmaker muttered. The bell rang and the group parted to go to their first period classes.

"Now, this week we'll go over STDs," Miss Darling said as she returned the tests from last week. "Hopefully, you'll test better at that than this." She gave April and Roger pointed looks; April received a seventy, while Roger barely got half of them right. April shrugged it off and Roger wasn't conscious enough to see his score as he placed his head down on the desk. The teacher groaned and went up to the chalkboard.

"Can anyone tell me some diseases that they know?" she asked.

"Whatever April's picked up," Angel muttered. Miss Darling didn't hear his comment. Collins, Benny, Roger, and Mark did. They were shocked at him; he was usually the one who was calm and collect. Lately, he's grown more bitter. April turned around and gave him a folded up piece of paper.

**We need to talk.**

Angel rolled his eyes and scribbled down his response;

_I have nothing to say to you._

He waited until Gordon answered Miss Darling's question so she'd turn around before he passed the note back. They went back and forth with it throughout the class period.

**This is important, Angel.**

_So was my innocence, but look what happened there. Because of you._

**I would do anything to take back that night, I swear to you. I can't make up for what I've done in the past, but I'm trying to resolve things now. But I really screwed up.**

_That's an understatement._

**Angel, I'm dying.**

Angel let out a small gasp. No one else in class took notice as they listed STDs they knew the names of. He had to think for a minute before writing down anything else.

_From what?_

**I wasn't careful enough. I got AIDS from a needle.**

_Oh my gosh, sweetie, are you okay?_

**Angel, when I told you that Mimi is an addict, I meant for you to help her. Because she may have gotten AIDS too.**

Angel almost let out a squeak at that. He got Mimi and Collins' attention from that. He turned red and didn't do anything until they looked away.

_Did you share needles?_

**Yes. If I'd known that something like this would've happened, I would have never done anything.**

_You gave her AIDS?!_

**And possibly Roger too.**

_April! This is getting too far! What if they share needles with other people?_

Angel saw April shaking. He was still furious with her. But he saw that she was struggling. He wanted to be angry, but he just couldn't. He knew that now he had to be there for a friend. Even if she was a prostitute on smack.

**Please don't get mad! I don't even know how I'm going to tell them.**

_Well you better do it soon!_

**Can you do it for me?**

_April!_

**I know, but I'm going to end up having a panic attack before that happens!**

_You can't just say "We've got AIDS" and walk away from it!_

**Please don't yell at me!**

_We're writing this! Why not just break up with Roger?_

**Because I love him!**

They continued passing notes throughout class, using both sides of three pieces of paper. Once the bell rang, Mimi yanked Angel out of his seat and pulled him aside.

"Chica, what the hell is going on?" she hissed.

"I'm just trying to help her change herself, okay?" Angel said. He wasn't lying, but it wasn't the whole truth either. And looking at Mimi, knowing that she may be dying, was starting to kill him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mimi asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

He shook his head; he didn't realize that he was staring. "Look, I need to go somewhere else for lunch. I'm sure that Maureen won't mind taking you-"

"Not at all!" the drama queen chirped.

"How long have you been listening?" Angel asked.

"I heard my name!" she giggled. Angel nodded, not expecting any less from her. He handed off his best friend and waited for the girls to leave the room before rushing over to April.

"Where's the clinic?" he asked.

"It's about two blocks away," April answered. "We can get there and back before lunch period ends."

"Let's go."

* * *

"Oh, my gosh, you guys!" Maureen screeched randomly during lunch. "I almost forgot!"

"What?" Roger asked, his mouth full of a tuna sandwich.

Today, because Mimi was joining the group, they decided to split the group in half. Mimi ended up with Mark, Alison, and Joanne. Roger, Benny, and Collins were all stuck with Maureen.

"My birthday party is two weeks from today!" she exclaimed. "And I need your help!"

The three boys exchanged a look. _Oh no_. The only reason they made Mark sit with the other girls was because they didn't want to be filmed. Now that seemed like less of a burden.

"Why do we have to?" Collins groaned.

"Because you're my best friend," Maureen said, grinning. "And Benny is your guy best friend. And Roger can bring booze. Therefore, you're all going to help me plan the most kick-ass birthday party in the universe! Or at least Scarsdale!"

"You know what this means, right?" Benny asked with a sly smile.

"Wine and beer!" the table cheered. The others around them stared and rolled their eyes. They were all used to the group's unusual behavior by now. They acted like high school seniors when they hadn't even reached high school yet.

"So who's invited?" Collins asked. Maureen pulled out a notebook from her book bag that had her name scribbled across it in different sizes and forms (by Maureen herself, of course). She leafed through the pages until she found the right one. She pulled out a pen and wrote down some names.

"Everyone from Mimi's party okay?" she asked.

"Does that mean a certain girl with the hots for a certain friend of ours?" Roger teased, nudging Collins.

"Dude, don't," he growled, shoving Roger into Benny. "I said that it's not gonna work out already. So please, for my sake..."

"Okay," the rocker said. "Sheesh."

"And it's gonna be in my basement," Maureen continued, not skipping a beat. "I was thinking that people could dress up a bit, you know? Guys in dress pants and ties, and girls in skirts and dresses?" She reached over and pinched Roger.

"Ow!"

"That means _no plaid pants_!"

"They're my trademark," he whined, tugging a bit on his pants. If he wasn't wearing those, he'd wear worn down, torn up jeans. No one expected any less of him.

"And Roger, we want something a bit more than wine and beer. But I don't expect _you_ to bring that." She looked at Benny. "You can get better stuff, right?"

"Absolut?" he asked. Maureen nodded.

"I got the Stoli," Collins added.

"And that's why I love you," Maureen said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He wiped his face with his shirt sleeve as soon as she moved away from him.

"Girl, I don't know where your mouth's been!" Collins snapped.

"Oh, I'm gonna make my own invitations!" Maureen cried, ignoring his comment. "And they'll be covered in glitter and stickers!"

Naturally, the boys groaned at that.

"Then it's settled!" she said. She put away her notebook and smiled at the boys. "You guys are such a great help! Just wait until you help me set up!"

"What?" they cried.

"Hey baby!" April greeted her boyfriend as she came up behind them. She noticed the looks on their faces. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"We're helping Mo plan her birthday party," Roger answered. "I hope you like dressing up."

"Oh, don't you worry about that baby!" April leaned down to kiss him. Behind them, they heard an argument in Spanish brewing, and they didn't have to turn around to even guess who it was.

"_¿Por qué hablas de esa basura?_" Mimi snapped. (_Why are you talking to that trash?_)

"_Estoy tratando de ser buen amigo_," Angel replied. (_I'm trying to be a good friend._)

"_Ella no es un buen amigo! ¿No te acuerdas lo que hizo para nosotros?_" (_She is not a good friend! Don't you remember what she did to us?_)

"_Usted es tan irritante a veces!_" (_You are so irritating sometimes_!)

"What's up your ass Angel?" Mimi asked. Angel gasped at that. Mimi did too and threw her arms around her best friend.

"_¿Por qué dices eso?_" Angel cried. (_Why would you ask me that?_)

"I'm so sorry, Ang!" the other Latina cried with her. "I didn't mean it! I swear, it was an accident!"

"Let's just go to class." The two shared another hug before walking inside the school building as the bell rang.

"What was _that_ about?" Mark asked, turning to the other table.

"I dunno," Collins and Maureen answered at the same time, shrugging.


	12. Um, Wait!

_**You are cordially invited to the fourteenth birthday of**_

_**Maureen Johnson**_

_**Sunday, May twenty-seventh, nineteen eighty-four**_

_**from three o' clock until whenever you leave- sleeping over is an option for all- at five hundred twenty-five Main Street**_

_**It's a black tie event so dress up and look sexy!**_

_**Don't bother RSVPing because I already know that your answer is yes!**_

_**And don't forget presents! Party at Life Café to follow!**_

"This is definitely a Maureen invitation," Benny remarked, wrinkling his nose. The invitation was on purple construction paper written in glittery pink pen, for once written in neat penmanship compared to sloppy letters. There were stickers of hearts and rainbows and such decorated around the words with glitter sprinkled across the bare spots. It was flashy and crazy, just like the diva herself.

"Good thing I have nothing planned that day," Roger said, "or else she'd probably drag me by my hair to the party." He winced and ran his fingers through his bleach blonde hair, imagining Maureen yanking it and bringing her to his house.

"You bet your ass!" Maureen teased with a wink. "Now, Marky, you better be filming this, or else there will be hell to pay. And I hope you guys brush up on your dancing skills, because there will be a bit of _slow dancing_ done."

"For once, I think I'm jealous of Mark," Benny said. Collins and Roger nodded in agreement.

"Ah, the benefit of being a dancer with my girlfriend," the filmmaker said with a satisfactory sigh. "Well, I think you guys better grab a partner and learn a few moves before the party."

"Oh, I know!" Maureen chirped. "Roger, you can dance with April! And I don't think Mimi would mind dancing with you, right Benny? And I'll take Collins!"

"Um, Mo?" Collins asked weakly. "I think that after what happened over the weekend, it's not really the best idea..."

"What happened over the weekend?" Roger asked. The three other boys grinned and leaned in closer to the two blushing best friends.

"Did you guys finally hook up?" Benny questioned.

"Yes!" Maureen blurted.

"Maureen!" Collins hissed. "Don't say anything that one of us might end up regretting."

"No, Collins, I have to say this," Maureen insisted. She took a deep breath. "Me and Collins... we kissed. A lot. For a test."

"What kind of test?" Mark sing-songed. The boys were giggling now. Collins had his hand behind his back with his fingers crossed. He began praying that for once, Maureen wouldn't blab on something.

"I'm bi," Maureen continued. "It was to see whether or not I feel that strongly for boys. Turns out, I don't."

All four boys were gaping at Maureen. Collins was relieved that she didn't out him, but wait... _bi_?! He, Benny, and Roger were all surprised at this. Mark had a small hint that she was, but he had just assumed that she was trying to rub it in the guys' faces that she was able to hook up with the girl they were all dreaming about.

"Since when?" they all asked.

"Well, remember how I went on a date with Angie?" she said with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

"But you were dating Angel," Roger spluttered. "I saw you two making out in the hallway!"

"He was sort of a cover up."

"Did he know?" Benny cried.

"Yeah, he did."

"You didn't tell your best friends, yet you tell some guy who was your boyfriend for barely more than a week?" Collins asked, slightly hurt. The three turned to Mark, who hadn't said much since Maureen came out to them.

"Did you know about this?" Roger asked. Now he was hurt that his own best friend was keeping a secret from him.

"I was slightly suspicious," Mark admitted. "When Joanne and I went on our first date, we saw Maureen making out with Angie in the middle of the Life before the manager threw them out."

"So you two weren't going to tell us about this?" Benny asked.

"I was whenever I met a girl worth showing off!" Maureen said. "I need to give out more invitations. Bye!" She skipped away. Once she did, Roger began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Mark asked.

"You made your girlfriend start liking chicks," he giggled. Benny and Collins joined in the laughter, all of them gasping for air and wiping away tears. Mark groaned and walked away, unable to will himself to pull out his camera this morning. Or for the rest of the day, since his friends tried their hardest to get him to record them taunting him.

Like it wasn't bad enough that Roger and Maureen knew about his inability to hold an erection on the High Holy Days.

* * *

Angel had dragged April with her to the clinic that Saturday. The nurse there was kind of shocked to find that the fourteen-year-old boy who had showed up with the redhead earlier in the week was now a fourteen-year-old girl, but just waved it off. After all, she had taken a HIV test, and she wasn't the most flamboyant person who had shown up yet. Angel held April close, trying to keep herself from breaking down in the middle of the waiting room. After all they've been through within the past month, both of them found it ironic that they were turning to each other.

"Mr. Schunard?" the doctor asked as he peered his head around a door, searching for the boy who showed up a few days ago.

"It's Miss Schunard, actually," Angel responded timidly. The doctor did a double take before telling the girls to follow him. He had them sit in a room. Angel had April sitting on her lap, clinging to each other. April recognized the doctor from when she came to the clinic last week. And she saw the familiar papers on the counter that he had handed her. She started crying at that; she already knew what the news would be.

"Angel Dumott Schunard, correct?" the doctor read off from the file in his hand.

"Just Angel, please," Angel said, biting her lip.

"Can we just have the paper?" April asked. The doctor nodded and handed over a folded up paper to the girls and looked away. He hated delivering news to patients, especially to those who were as young as the two in the room.

Angel unfolded the paper slowly. She couldn't bring herself to read the paper and shut her eyes tight.

"I can't do this!" she cried. "April, please do this for me!"

"Angel, it's not my results!" April whined.

"I'm scared!"

"Me too, but this isn't my job to do!"

"Fine then!" Angel opened her eyes and they scanned the page in her hand, reading the typed words;

**Name:** Dumott Schunard, Angel J.  
**DOB:** December 2, 1970  
**Blood Type:** B+  
**Results for HIV Test: **Positive

Angel let out a gasp. April hugged her tight as the girl began to sob.

"I'm so sorry," the doctor told Angel. "I'll need you to fill out some forms. You will need to..."

The doctor's words seemed to fade away to Angel. Her heartbeats were ten thousand times louder. She was positive. HIV positive. Because she was raped by a stranger in a club. Because she was drunk. Because she was weak and naïve and didn't listen to the warnings. She was only fourteen. And what would she tell her family? More specifically, what would she tell them first? Her mother would be devastated. Nicole would snap at Angel, because she had no trust in her new friends- she'd seen them whenever she hung around the Cohen household with Cindy- and warned Angel that nothing good could possibly come out of them. She just hugged her knees to her chest while April filled out forms, knowing the answers to the questions from being Angel's friend for so long. The doctor nodded and left the room to give the girls a few minutes alone.

"Angel?" April asked calmly. "Are you okay?"

"You know what? No, I'm not okay, honey," Angel snapped. "I'm a teenage drag queen who got raped by a man almost twice her age because she was drinking at a bar that she got into on a fake ID! I'm afraid to go out in public because I know that somewhere out there, he's there, laughing at me. And now I'm going to die from a deadly disease that there's no cure for!"

"I know, and I feel like it's all my fault, but we're gonna both fight this and get through to the end, okay?" April took Angel's hands in hers and squeezed gently.

"It's not your fault that people think I'm pretty," she said with a laugh.

April reached into her purse and pulled out rolled up bills. She put it in Angel's hand and closed her fingers around them. "I want you to have this."

"Oh, sweetie, I can't take your money."

"You deserve it." April smiled at her friend and whispered, "You don't deserve to have this disease."

"Thanks for being a good friend." The two girls began crying again and hugged tightly.

* * *

"Do you know why we were called in on a Saturday?" Mark asked Joanne as they headed toward one of the studios.

"No," she admitted. "I mean, bad enough we have a project due on Monday, but extra rehearsals? She said we were better than the Senior company!"

"Maybe we're performing for them!"

"Please, that'd be ridiculous!" They walked into the room and found not only Miss Porter, but another girl. She was at least sixteen, stretching at the barre, not taking notice of the others in the room.

"There they are!" Miss Porter announced the teens' arrival. The girl at the barre looked and smiled at them. More specifically, smiled at Joanne's presence.

"Miss Porter, you never told me that she was such a beauty!" she cried in a thick accent. Joanne blushed at that and took Mark's hand.

"Cohen, Jefferson, this is the French Ambassador's daughter, Camille," the dance instructor introduced. "She is a very skilled tango dancer and is here to help a bit on anywhere you need to improve. I've showed her the dance you two are doing, so she will be able to practice one-on-one with you two."

"Let me see first," Camille said, waving at them to do so. Mark and Joanne nodded and dropped their bags, getting into their starting positions. Joanne couldn't help but notice the looks she was getting from the extra person in the room as she did her dance.

"Why is she staring at me?" Joanne hissed as Mark dipped her slowly.

"Who wouldn't?" he whispered with a smile. Joanne had to suppress a giggle as they finished staring lovingly into each other's eyes.

"Brava!" Camille cried, clapping for the couple. Mark gave Joanne a small kiss that made the cheering end.

"What do you think, Camille?" Miss Porter asked.

"I think that tomorrow, I will work with them a bit," she replied. She pointed a manicured finger at Joanne and added, "Her first," with a wink that the two teens noticed.

"Then it's settled!" the teacher continued. "See you two tomorrow for class! You are dismissed." Mark and Joanne said their goodbyes and were more than eager to rush out the door.

"Now do you see what I meant by her staring at me?" Joanne asked her boyfriend.

"Totally," Mark agreed. "I mean, I didn't think it was anything until that last thing she said. You don't think she's trying to... make a move on you?"

"I must be insane to think that she wasn't trying to." Joanne let out a sigh. "Should we both call in sick tomorrow?"

"We'll risk losing out duet at the recital if we do," the filmmaker pointed out. "Besides, she knows that you're my girlfriend, right?"

"Right," Joanne said quietly. "Right."


	13. Hey Lover Boy, Cutie Pie

"Damn it!" Benny groaned as he misspelled "chlamydia" _again_. He erased the word and rewrote it. Alison giggled a bit at that.

"It's not that big of a deal," she said.

"Well, this project is due tomorrow, and I'm not exactly having the best month of my freaking life, okay?" he snapped. He finished the last sentence of his and Alison's report on STDs and threw the pencil. It bounced off her bedroom wall and the point hit Benny in the forehead.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Alison coaxed. She helped Benny stand up and sat him down on her bed. She sat next to him and took his hands in hers.

"What don't you know already?" Benny said, laughing like a madman. "My girlfriend was drugged and had sex with another girl while a bunch of guys jacked off to it. Then she dumped me when I tried to help her. One of my best friends turns out to be into guys _and girls_ and decided to tell us two days ago. I don't know who to trust anymore!"

"What about me?" Alison asked. "You're being nicer to Joanne and me now. You haven't called us Muffy or Doc for a while." She smiled. "Remember when you helped me open my locker?"

She remembered exactly what happened.

_"Dang it, no!" Alison whined as she tried her locker combination again. It didn't open. "No no no no no no no!"_

_"Having trouble there, Muffy?" Benny asked as he put away textbooks in his own locker, two away from his enemy's._

_"No, Benjamin, I'm not," she growled through clenched teeth. "Can't you tell? Everything here is peachy keen!" She kicked her locker with the toe of her Mary Janes, something she regretted almost instantly. She hopped up and down on her good foot and winced in pain._

_"Let me help," Benny insisted. "What's your combination?"_

_"Eighteen twenty-two twenty," she said. "You're not gonna break in and vandalize my personal belongings, are you?"_

_"I'm not the monster you think I am, Alison," he replied. Alison paused._

_"Y-you said 'Alison,'" she pointed out. "You didn't call me Muffy."_

_"Nope."_

_"But you always call me Muffy!"_

_"Well maybe I'm proving you wrong by being nicer than you expected." With that, he opened her locker and smiled. "I'm being a nice guy. You could try that too." He shut his own locker and picked up his book bag. Alison was still confused as to why the person she was supposed to hate was randomly opening her locker and addressing her by her real name._

_"Thanks," she said as he walked away. She watched him go and thought about what he said._

"I remember," Benny said. "I thought you were gonna kill me for not calling you Muffy!"

"I was confused, but I'm glad you didn't. Look at how close we are because of that." Alison hugged Benny. After a few moments of confusion, he hugged her back, inhaling the smell of her fruity perfume.

How the hell did they get here? They used to be enemies, like polar opposites. He was from the crummy part of Scarsdale, while she was among the rich élite of town. They frowned upon people like himself and his friends. Yet here she was, her arm thrown around his shoulders, his wrapped around her waist. He just accepted what was happening and let it happen. It was the best thing that has happened to him so far this month.

* * *

Mimi gripped onto the side of the sink in Angel's bathroom. She grabbed a few tissues and wiped the beads of sweat forming on her forehead and underarms. Her hands shook visibly as she moved them. Her mirror reflection showed her how pale and sickly she had become. It was starting to upset Angel, but Mimi knew the real reason she was like this; she hadn't had a hit in seven days. She's ran out a while ago, not even knowing how she'd gone through all of the smack in such a short amount of time. She had wasted a couple of bags by flushing them down the toilet, but a small part of her made herself stop destroying the drugs. She got high whenever it was possible; from sneaking out of class to shoot up in the bathroom, or the desire to have a fix before going to Angel's house. But no, she knew it wasn't an addiction. She could stop anytime she wanted to. She chose not to because it felt good. It quieted the disgusting voices of several perverted older men ringing in her ears and the stains they left behind marking their presence near her.

"Mimi?" Angel asked through the door. "Chica, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mimi replied hoarsely. "I think I'm just coming down with a cold."

"Aw, do you want me to find a can of soup to heat up for you?"

"No, _mija_, I think I should just go home. I don't want to get you sick too." Mimi opened to door and saw Angel there, giving her a look of worry.

"Are you sure?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think you should walk home in your state..."

"We already finished the project," Mimi insisted. "I don't need to spread my disease onto you, okay? I'll go home, take some cough syrup, lie down, and tomorrow, I'll be as good as new."

"Fine," her best friend caved. "See you tomorrow then."

Mimi waved and smiled as she left out the front door rather quickly. She scratched her wrists a bit as she made her way home. She hated walking through downtown now, but it was safer during the day compared to the night scene. It's what happened to families that were single mothers that didn't speak English and daughters who happened to be drug addicts. Mimi crossed her arms to stop her fingers from fidgeting and looked up to see April and The Man. The redhead glanced around before slipping The Man a large wad of cash. Mimi saw a glimpse of a tiny plastic bag in April's hands before the girl ran across the street and through the park. Mimi bit her lip before running up to The Man.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey cutie pie," came the response of the dealer. His voice sent chills down the Latina's spine. She took a step back instinctively before inching closer.

"I-I don't have any left," she said quietly. "I'm out. And I'm broke. I'm illing..."

"But are you willing?" The Man ran the back of his hand over Mimi's cheek. She felt as if sandpaper was being rubbed on her face. But it felt comforting to her. He had the one thing she needed.

She was illing and willing. She nodded slowly, her eyes making contact with the sidewalk.

"I have to get my sickness off," she whimpered as she shivered. The Man smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come with me," he said. "I'll be able to help..." He led Mimi down the alley toward his apartment nearby.

From across the street, April watched as her ex-best friend began throwing her life away. Inside, a pang of guilt struck her heart. But it wasn't her fault anymore; now this was all Mimi's decisions. She's choosing to get high. She's choosing to sell out her innocence for just one single hit.

But April didn't go and stop Mimi from throwing her life away; Roger was waiting for her... and the smack.

* * *

Collins waited until Roger shut his bedroom door before he practically flew to his dresser. He opened the top drawer and lifted up folded up shirts until he found what he was looking for; the pictures of Angel. They were two pictures; one of Angel in drag and one of him out of it. He got the first one from Mimi, who said she had a second copy, and the second from Maureen, who took the picture when they dated each other. He had developed an infatuation for the drag queen- no wait, more than that. He had fallen in love with Angel. His high-pitched giggles. The moans he made when they had kissed in Mimi's basement. The birthmark that Collins noticed peeking out from underneath of the grey fabric of Angel's sweatpants that one day in health. Collins held the pictures to his chest and took a deep breath, smiling.

"Hey man, I think I left my coat in here..." Roger paused when he was what Collins was doing. The anarchist blushed and tried hiding the pictures behind his back, praying that Roger hadn't seen them.

"Maybe it's in the living room?" he squeaked. Roger narrowed his eyes and slipped into the bedroom. He shut the door behind him so that no one else in the house would hear their conversation.

"What'cha got there?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. I saw the pictures. How about you hand them over to me before one of us gets hurt?"

Collins groaned and handed Roger the picture of Angel in drag. The rocker smiled.

"That girl..." Roger shook his head. "You want her so bad, I can tell." He held out his hand. "Now, where's the other picture?" he asked.

"What other picture?" Collins asked innocently.

"Don't even try." Roger reached out and snatched the photograph from Collins' hands. His smile fell when he laid eyes on it. He held the two pictures next to each other when the obvious had dawned on him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure your coat is in the living room," Collins said, trying to change the subject from the awkward matter at hand.

"So Angel is a drag queen?" Roger asked. "He was Angie this whole time?"

"Yes," Collins confessed. "And I didn't find out until after what happened."

"Wait... Collins, are you gay?"

Collins didn't answer. He just sat down on his bed and stared at the floor. Roger sat next to him.

"It's not a bad thing, just... why didn't you say anything?" Roger asked.

"Remember when Mo said that we kissed?" Collins replied. "I didn't know that she was questioning herself, but it was like a gay test for me. And as it turns out, I am."

"So you're gay... and you have some creepy obsession with Angel?"

Collins snatched the pictures from his friend's hands. "It's not an obsession."

"So do you love him?"

Collins bit his lip and nodded his head.

"Does he love you back?"

Collins shrugged.

"Well then..."

"You can't tell Mark or Benny or anyone!" Collins pleaded. "Please. Mo is the only other one who knows!"

"Just Mo?" Roger asked.

"Well, I think Angel might know," the anarchist admitted. "But he's trying to avoid me. He's gay too, and he had a crush on me before... you know."

Roger nodded. "Then why the hell are you sitting here, staring at his pictures for?" he asked. "Get off of your ass and do something about it!"

"It's not that simple, Roger."

"What the hell is it about everyone hiding secrets in our group of friends?" Roger stood up and began pacing in anger. "You and Mo can't tell anyone that you're gay or bi, and Mark didn't tell anyone that he was a dancer, and Benny has been acting really strange around Alison randomly..."

"Don't you have any secrets from us?" Collins asked.

Roger shook his head. "No. I think I left my coat in the living room." With that, Roger left the room. Collins sighed and stared at the pictures in his hands.

He wanted Angel to love him, but he didn't know if Angel was able to love him back. The boy was still shell-shocked from that fateful night. Collins wanted to help him heal and move on, but he was constantly pushed away. He placed the pictures back in their hiding spot and decided to go to bed, wanting to dream of a better world, where he and Angel could be together forever.


	14. The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

"May twenty-first, 1984, noon Eastern Standard Time. We are in health class, placing our crappy reports on Sexually Transmitted Diseases on Miss Darling's desk while she grabs the biggest cup of coffee from the teachers' lounge. Naturally, Benny was smart to choose Alison as a partner because she has a decent typewriter to make their report look nicer compared to Roger's chicken scratch paper. Collins and Maureen's is written in her purple glitter pen, which definitely makes Collins look much more badass."

"Says the tango dancer," Maureen snorts. The other three boys laugh as Mark puts him camera away.

"I think it's great that you're a tango dancer," Mimi called out from a few rows over. "I think it makes you more of a man than the other guys.

"_Sí_," Angel agreed. "It's _mucho sexy_."

"Uh, thanks?" Mark replied sheepishly.

"I think you're lucky Joanne," Angel turned to the other dancer, who smiled.

"I am," she said. "Mark's a great dancer."

"Alright class, let's start today's lesson," Miss Darling said as she walked into the room. The fifteen students took their seats and watched as the teacher wrote one thing on the board;

_**HIV/AIDS**_

Angel let out a tiny gasp and April's eyes widened. The others in the room didn't seem to take notice of this. Angel reached forward and took April's hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her delicate pale hand. Miss Darling passed out packets with information about their lesson on it.

"Who knows what HIV stands for?" she asked. She pointed to Pam, who raised her hand.

"Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection," Pam answered.

"Right. Now, who knows what AIDS stands for?" No hand was raised. She scanned across the room and picked on a terrified Angel.

"Acquired Immune Definiency Syndrome," he answered quietly.

"Correct. Now, who wants to read off the ways you can contract HIV?" This time, Collins raised his hand and was called on.

"A common way is through body fluids, usually blood, during sharing needles or blood transfusions," he read. "Unprotected sex is also a common form of transmission. The third possible way of contracting the disease is from mother to child during childbirth."

Somehow, Mimi and Roger were unphased by this, or rather, neither of them were focusing on the paper on their desks. Mimi started filing her nails and Roger had already fallen asleep. Both April and Angel were still holding hands and now fretted over their friends who may now be infected like themselves.

"Now, there are many symptoms of someone with HIV or AIDS," Miss Darling continued. "Most people develop flu-like or mono-like symptoms, have sudden weight loss, have sores and rashes, or sometimes have no symptoms at all. That usually happens throughout the first two to four weeks..."

"What does that mean for us?" Angel asked quietly. "It's been over three weeks for me."

"We're both safe then," April whispered. She flipped through the pages of her packet and held it out for her friend to see. "This is a chart about T-cells. The stages of HIV/AIDS is based on this, sort of. How many we have depends on how much longer we have to live."

"Look at all of these different pills to take," Angel said. "NNRTI, AZT, PI, 3TC, TDF, FTC..."

"Shit," April hissed. She glanced at the wall clock and reached into her bag. She pulled out a pill and a water bottle. When no one but Angel was looking, she popped the pill into her mouth and took a swig of water to help swallow it. She looked back to see Angel had a pill of his own. She passed back the water bottle and he swallowed his own AZT.

"I'll be doing this for the rest of my life," he sighed. "And according to this, I have an average of eight years before this stops."

"Don't talk like that," April snapped. "We're not going to let this get the best of us-"

"Miss Ericsson and Mr. Dumott Schunard," Miss Darling said loudly to the two teenagers in the back of the room, "I hope I'm not interrupting something..." She narrowed her eyes at Angel. "What's in your hand?"

Angel gulped and tried placing his hands over his AZT beeper. "Nothing," he answered quickly.

Miss Darling put down the piece of chalk in her hand and walked over to him. All eyes were on Angel as Miss Darling stood in front of him and held out one hand. He sheepishly revealed the beeper to her, not wanting her to make a scene over it. The teacher's eyebrows went up; she had a few friends with the deadly disease and recognized what was in his hand instantly. She looked down at the ground and noticed a beeper sticking out of April's bag as well.

"You're right," Miss Darling said. "It's nothing." Angel put his beeper away and stared at his desk. The paper resting on top was suddenly snatched away. So was April's.

"What did I do?" she asked.

"You two are excused from this chapter," Miss Darling told them. "Just..." She placed the two packets on her desk and walked briskly out of the classroom. Everyone continued staring at Angel and April, wondering how they provoked that kind of reaction from their teacher.

"What the hell was that about?" Roger asked April.

"I dunno," she lied.

"You're lucky," Mimi told her friend. "I wish I could get out of the lesson."

Angel forced a smile. He knew that it was a bad thing that he wasn't doing any work this week. And that Mimi had a large chance of getting away with it too.

* * *

Benny continued entering in the combination for his locker repeatedly after his last class. He had been trying to figure out how to ask Alison out on a date last night and every single idea he came up with would have ended in disaster. He did figure one out during health after the teacher ran out of the room and executed the first part of his plan during lunch hour. Now he just needed to wait for the girl to show up for the second part to commence.

He looked and his breath was nearly taken away when he saw her. The shiny blonde hair held back by a black headband with a bow on the side of it. The blue plaid skirt that fell a few inches above her knees. The white polo whose collar and sleeves were seen from underneath of a navy sweater vest. The black Mary Janes on her feet. The white socks with tiny navy bows on the top that went close up to her knees. The two textbooks that she clung on to. The tan designer bag she carried her other school things in. Her hearty laugh that rang through the air. Her perfect smile. The baby blue eyes. The bounce in her step. Her perfect tan skin tone. Benny felt weak in the knees and held on to the door of his locker so he wouldn't fall over.

Alison didn't seem to take notice of this as she walked past Benny and to her own locker. After a few moments she looked to see him slam his door shut and turn his lock so it was lined up with the zero. She giggled at the nervous look on his face.

"Did health class make you go cuckoo too?" she teased.

"Funny," he said with a smile. "But no. I was just wanna say..."

"Alison!"

Benny groaned as Joanne ran up to her best friend.

"What?" Alison asked her, abandoning her locker to Benny's dismay.

"I forgot that I have to go straight to the dance studio right after school with Mark this whole week, so I can't bring you home," Joanne said. "But I can still get someone to bring you home if you need me to."

"It's okay," Alison said. "My daddy is picking me up today anyway. I'll just ask our butler to get us the rest of the week."

Benny gulped. _Butler?_ Here he was, barely living in a middle class family, trying to impress a Muffy.

But to him, she wasn't Muffy anymore. She was Alison Grey.

When Joanne finally ran off to meet up with Mark, Alison turned back to her locker and entered the combination. She failed to open it. She tried two more times and it still didn't budge. She still had trouble with it. Benny bit his lip nervously.

"Can you give me a hand?" Alison asked.

"Sure," Benny said quickly. He was able to unlock the locker and pulled it open only slightly. Alison thanked him and pulled open the door.

She gasped when she saw what was inside. Rose petals were scattered across the shelf and floor of the metal area. Instead of candles as Benny wanted to do, he hung up a bright yellow glow stick off of a hook in the center. A white bear holding onto a red heart with its paws sat on top of the other notebooks and textbooks inside of it. The bear was also hugging two tickets to _Footloose_. Alison turned to Benny.

"Benny?" she asked.

"I didn't know how else to ask you out," he admitted. "I did this all during lunch... Hopefully you'll say yes? I don't want to go see _Footloose_ with Roger or Collins." He was grateful that they didn't know about this; they'd ridicule him for even thinking of that movie.

Alison giggled. "Of course I'll go with you. I mean, gosh, this is so sweet and romantic." She gave Benny a quick hug. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She put away her books and grabbed her bear before skipping away. Benny sighed in relief and leaned back against his own locker. He was finally going on a date with Alison Grey.

* * *

"_¿__Mamá? __¿Nicole?_" Angel called out timidly as he came into his living room. His mother was reading a book and his sister was doing her calculus homework. They looked up at the boy. His mother smiled, but Nicole, who was closer to her little brother, sensed that there was something wrong.

"_¿Qué es cariño?_" Miss Dumott Schunard asked her son. (_What is it sweetie?_) Although she had been born in the United States, Angel's mother's first language was Spanish, and she didn't know much English. Fortunately, Nicole and Angel had learned it in Elementary school and helped translate for their mother most of the time.

Nicole shut her notebook and motioned for her brother to join her on the couch. Angel did so and his older sister wrapped her arms around her.

"Were you beat up at school again?" Nicole asked gently. Angel sniffled and shook his head.

"It happened at... a club," he said quietly.

"_¿Qué ibas a un club?_" Nicole asked this in Spanish for the sole purpose of their mother understanding. (_Why were you at a club?_) Whenever the two of them did something bad, they'd tell each other in English so that they would be able to get away with whatever they'd done without their mother's full understanding of it. Nicole had sensed that it was what Angel was aiming for. She knew better.

"April," Angel said. Nicole nodded slowly.

"Continue in Spanish," she suggested sternly.

"_Nos separamos, y había un hombre..._" (_We got separated, and there was this man..._) Angel paused to choke back a sob. His mother put down her book.

"Angel?" she asked weakly, afraid of what he'd say next.

"_Y luego... me violó._" (_And then he... raped me_.) Nicole gasped and tightened her grip around her brother as he began to cry.

"Oh Angel!" his mother cried.

"I got tested," Angel continued, not wanting his mother to hear the next part, "I wanted to see if I had..."

Before he could continue, a beeper went off in his bag. He winced when it did. Nicole recognized it instantly; she had a few friends with the deadly virus that took medicine throughout the days. Angel reached for it and pulled it out slowly.

"No..." she said quietly. "Not you too..."

"I'm HIV positive," Angel finished. He finally started bawling. His mother and sister rushed to his side and hugged him tight. They all started murmuring apologies to each other for random events and cried together. None of them would ever expect that something this tragic could happen to their family, especially Angel. He was too innocent for the ugliness of death and disease.


	15. Just Let Me Be

Angel tried to escape from health class to lunch as fast as he could. Mimi had been suspicious of why Miss Darling let him get away with not having to do the current chapter for the past couple of days and showed no sign of letting up on him. She tried cornering him three times today, but he escaped from each attempt. He was surprised that Mimi hadn't tried getting Maureen to latch onto him and drag the boy to the ground. He was planning on hiding in the cafeteria for lunch today, but Mimi found him first and yanked him outside.

"Start talking, Chico," she said once they were outside.

"Start talking about what?" Angel countered. He knew it wasn't a strong reply.

"What's up with you lately?" his best friend questioned. "You've been acting weird for a while now. When I called your house last night, Nicole had been crying and telling me that I shouldn't be bothering you guys. What the hell is wrong?"

"You're asking me about acting suspicious?" Angel let out a little laugh. "You've been acting _loco_ for a while too! Why have you been so sick-looking?"

"If I look sick, then most likely, _I'm sick!_" Now they had attracted attention from some of the others. Maureen looked ready to walk over until Roger gripped her arm as a sign of her to stay put. Angel blushed before lowering his voice.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I guess I just assumed the worst..."

"Yeah," Mimi sighed. "But you still haven't told me why you're being so... different."

Angel bit his lip. He wanted to avoid this conversation. It was bad enough he had to suffer his mother hugging him to his chest for hours. Mimi would be a mess when she learned the truth. Angel power-walked to where the others were and plopped down between Roger and Collins, hoping that Mimi would give up. He should've known that she wouldn't. She sat across from him between Benny and Mark and glared at her best friend.

"Tell me," she demanded.

"No," Angel responded.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"_Tell me!_"

"_Mimi!_"

Before the Latina could say anything else, Angel's AZT beeper went off. The table grew silent as Angel reached into his bag and turned it off. He pulled out a pill and a bottle of water.

"What's that?" Mimi asked.

"My medication," Angel murmured.

"Wait a minute," Mark said quietly. Something seemed familiar about this. He saw Cindy's friends taking medicine like Angel did. Then he remembered the pictures in his health book.

"Oh my gosh," the filmmaker gasped. Angel's eyes widened. The others were lost.

"Angel, what's going on?" Mimi asked weakly.

"I got tested," Angel blurted out.

"Tested for what?" Maureen inquired.

"Whoa..." Collins caught on now. "You mean you're...?"

"HIV positive," the Latino admitted.

Instead of Mimi, Maureen was the first one to react. She reached across Roger and hugged Angel tight.

"That's awful!" she wailed. Angel pried Maureen off of him (with the help of the shocked guitar player next to him) and waited for Mimi's reaction.

Mimi couldn't say a word. Instead, she stood up and ran back into the school building.

And Angel burst into tears.

* * *

Sometimes, Roger regretted choosing to hang out with Mark. Yes, they were best friends, but when Mark pulled out his camera and started filming random things, he just wanted to smack him upside the head and try to have him act a little more normal. But Mark saw a little kid let go of a yellow balloon and he was currently focusing on it. Roger shook his head and wandered off. The two friends decided that while Collins, Maureen, and Benny consoled Angel that they should try to go elsewhere. The park was what they agreed on since they heard a few teachers mention going to the Life Café. He saw April exitting a car at the end park and figured he could just talk to her.

Then he saw the other person leaving the car. A total stranger. He was at least twice Roger's age with a sleazy appearance; gelled back hair, fancy business suit, and a sinister grin. He walked around and whispered something in April's ear. She nodded and took money from his hand before kissing his cheek. When he smacked her bottom, Roger stormed over to his unsuspecting girlfriend.

"April!" he shouted. The redhead turned to face her boyfriend and paled.

"Roger?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. Who the hell was that?"

"It's not what you think!"

Roger shook his head. "All of this time, you've been cheating on me?"

"No!"

"Then what the hell was that?"

"It's my job!"

Roger was stunned. _Job?_ His girlfriend was a prostitute? That was the last thing he had expected to hear. In his mind, he had hoped that the man was a really close cousin or something. Now he realized how far-fetched that was.

"So is that how you make money to buy drugs?" he asked.

"Don't lecture me about drugs, Roger," April spat. She grabbed his arm and hiked up his left sleeve. She pointed at the trackmarks and hissed, "You're just as guilty as me."

"Bullshit. I don't sleep with strangers." Roger freed himself of April's grasp before adding, "It's over."

"So? See if I care! Good luck getting smack now!" April stormed off.

Roger glared at her as she did. He was furious with her. But he knew she was right. She was his connection to getting high. She was the only one he knew that had access to heroin. Now he was never going to get high again. He was screwed over now.

"Hey!" Mark called out as he ran over to Roger. "The balloon is gone now. Wanna head back to school before we get suspended?"

"Sure," Roger said before he raced Mark back to school.

* * *

Joanne wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had been dancing for three hours for the third day in a row. She and Mark had been worn out after every lesson. Camille was still hanging around their classes. She would constantly correct Mark and show him what's wrong by demonstrating with Joanne, who grew uncomfortable about it. She noticed everything that Camille had done; purposefully moving her fingers from her waist to her hips while they danced; "accidentally" slipping her fingers in the straps of her bra or dress; reaching up her leg when she grasped it. Mark hadn't said much since the first time Camille did anything toward Joanne. He told her that she wouldn't do anything more.

"I can't wait for this damn recital," Joanne muttered to herself. "Then this will all end."

"Hello, Joanne." Camille walked into the locker room and posed against the wall. Joanne stiffened at that.

"Hey," she said uneasily. "What's going on?"

"I've been thinking about your dancing," the French ambassador's daughter said with a small moan. She moved closer to the other girl. "You're so _sexy_ out there."

"Thanks?" Joanne squeaked.

"Your partner is so-so," Camille added.

"Hey! That's my boyfriend!"

"Really? I think you can have a _much better_ partner than him..." Camille was now inches from Joanne, leaning toward her slowly.

"I wouldn't want to have anyone else-!"

Joanne was cut off as Camille pressed their lips together. She tried to pull away but the French girl decided otherwise. She grabbed her wrists and held her close. After a while, Joanne stopped trying to fight her and kissed the other girl back. She was pressed against the lockers and a hand went up her skirt. That's when her senses kicked in and she pushed Camille off of her.

"What the hell?" she snapped.

"What? You don't like my kissing?" Camille asked with a pout.

"I have a boyfriend! What was that... I mean... What?"

"I know you liked it, Joanne. Don't deny it." With a wink, Camille departed, leaving behind a confused Joanne. Only one thought went through the girl's mind; _I can never tell Mark._


	16. Let's Go Out Tonight

It was the Friday night before Maureen's birthday party, and the drama queen was grinning and bouncing on her water-bed. She heard the doorbell echo around the house and her mother talking to the two people she had invited over. She bounced on her knees once more before launching herself into a large pile of stuffed animals resting in the corner of her bedroom, which cushioned her landing. She quickly hid herself in them. From the huge quantity and size of all of them, it wasn't very hard for her to remain concealed. She instructed for her soon to be victims to enter the room when she heard knocking. She heard the door creak open and footsteps on the hardwood floor, followed by two distinct voices calling out her name. Once she heard her door shut again and could see her friends' shadows.

"BOO!"

Maureen popped out of the stuffed animals. Mimi screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped back. Roger, who was on top of the bed, fell onto the floor. The diva cackled.

"I got you guys!" she proclaimed. She applauded herself. Mimi and Roger scowled at her.

"Why did you do that?" Mimi asked as she helped the guitarist off of the floor.

"Because I was really bored," Maureen replied with a simple shrug.

"Forget that; why are we here at all?" Roger spat. He rubbed the back of his head where he hit it against the wall.

"Because we have a huge problem involving some friends of ours..." Maureen paused and just smiled. Mimi raised an eyebrow.

"Which friends?" she asked. "You know, a few names would be helpful."

Instead of giving away who, Maureen held up two fingers. Roger threw his arms up in the air; he had been extremely bitter ever since his break up with April.

"Can I guess that it's Angel and Collins?" he groaned.

"How'd you know?" Maureen gasped. She had thought that she hadn't made her little game that simple.

"Because Collins is hung up on him... her... Angel!" Roger sat down on the bed again. Mimi opted for a chair by the vanity mirror. Maureen threw herself on the bed again, causing Roger to fall off yet again.

"I want to get the two of them together," Maureen said in a loud whisper as if the two people were listening outside the door.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mimi asked.

"I don't like the floor!" Roger whined. His comment was ignored.

"Why not?" Maureen cried.

"Because Angel is going through a lot right now," Mimi answered. "I mean, she had HIV! Not to mention what happened on my birthday... I don't even know how I talked her into coming to yours."

"Because it's me!"

"That was probably the reason, now that I think of it..."

"And since you're Angel's best friend in the entire world, it shouldn't be too hard for you to convince him to-"

"She's hard to convince anymore ever since-"

"But if it's for me and you remind him that it's my birthday-"

"Maureen, you don't know her like I do!"

Roger hoisted himself off of the floor and decided to end this argument, knowing very well neither girl would win. "It won't be too hard. At least, not for Collins."

"I know," Maureen and Mimi said together. They turned to each other and said- all at the same time, which freaked out Roger, "What do you mean, you know? I know because I gave Collins a picture of Angel! Why? Because he asked me. Why would he ask you? I'm pretty sure that he asked me because I would obviously have a picture of Angel!"

"Shut up!" Roger shouted. His head hurt from hearing the two girls speaking simultaneously. "Collins got a picture from both of you, okay? But he's really into Angel. He said something about a birthmark..."

"He told me about it too!" Maureen exclaimed. "He said it was shaped like a heart."

"Oh, no," Mimi groaned, letting out a giggle. "Angel is going to _die_ when she realizes that Collins saw it..."

"Where is it?" Roger asked. Mimi pointed to where and Roger didn't say another word.

"Alright, first things first, is Angel coming as a boy or girl?" Maureen asked.

"Boy," Mimi said. "You know, in case strangers see her."

"Tell him to bring a dress and wig."

"Why?"

"So he can get changed here! And no is not an option! He's going to have a pretty dress and make Collins want to just take him upstairs and-"

Roger cut her off, making a face. "Mo, that's gross!" he cried.

"So? Do you have a better plan?"

"As a matter of fact, I got one from falling over a bit..."

"WAIT!" Maureen screamed. She looked around and asked, "Where's Benny? He said he'd come here!"

"I guess something came up," Mimi said, shrugging.

"What's more important than hooking up Angel and Collins?"

* * *

Benny hated _Footloose_.

Ironically, so did Alison.

Both of them tried to sit through the movie, but they couldn't help but laugh at it. Benny was surprised; most other girls he heard talking about it fantasized over Kevin Bacon. Some other guys said that they thought about banging the girl who played Rusty. As soon as he saw who she was, Benny didn't think she was attractive at all. Alison had been more interested in her popcorn and soda until she ran out. Then they had to be quiet whenever the manager would walk through to make sure no one was causing a disturbance in his theater.

_"So you want to kiss me?"_

_"Someday."_

_"What's this 'someday' shit?"_

_"Well, it's just I get this feeling you've been kissed a lot, and I'm afraid I'd suffer by comparison."_

Among the chorus of "aww!" from girls and cringes from boys forced to come along were two loud moans from the back row.

"This is the most tedious movie I've ever seen," Alison declared loudly. A few glances were thrown her way.

"I'll say," Benny muttered. "I'm sorry I ruined our first date."

"It's not your fault." Alison stood up and practically shouted, "It's not like you already knew ahead of time that this movie sucks!"

Many other girls voiced their opinions about her statement angrily.

"It's romantic!"

"How dare you!"

"You people are terrible!"

"_My_ boyfriend likes this movie!"

"I'm getting the manager!"

"He didn't do anything the first five times, so what makes you think this time is different?" Benny snapped at them.

"C'mon," Alison said, standing up. "No point in watching this bullshit." She took Benny's hand and the two of them dashed out of the door while popcorn and assorted candies were chucked at them from all directions. They didn't stop until they were outside. They laughed as they cleaned each other off.

"I'm sorry I picked _Footloose_," Benny apologized. "That was the worst movie ever."

"No," Alison assured him. "I thought it was sweet."

A car horn honked. Both teens turned to see the limo that was meant to pick them up. They piled in and the driver headed toward where Benny lived. The entire time, Benny and Alison laughed at all of the parts of the movie they thought were the worst.

"In all honesty, I didn't think that this date would be all so great," Alison admitted. "When you used to make fun of me because the whole world sees me as this prestigious, primp and proper girl, I expected you to treat me the same. But you actually acted like I was a normal person."

"Because that's what I see you as," Benny said sheepishly. Alison blushed. They stared into each other's eyes and slowly began to lean in... when the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes. It startled them and caused them to sit far apart from each other. The driver came around to open the door for Benny to let him out by his apartment building.

"See you tomorrow at Maureen's party," Alison said, waving goodbye.

"See ya," Benny replied. He went inside and quickly ascended the stairs to his apartment. He burst through the front door and ran straight to his room. He made it just in time to look out the window and wave to Alison. To his surprise, she had the window rolled down and she was waving back.

* * *

April cursed to herself under her breath as she threw miscellaneous clothing items into a bag. She didn't have much time before her parents would come home, drunk, and most likely end up passed out in the hallway before even reaching their own bedroom. She unlocked the chest she kept hidden under her bed and went through the possessions in there. She had her stash in there, which, naturally, she was taking with her. The pictures of her with Roger and with Mimi and Angel were tossed aside. The money she had set aside for special occasions was coming with her. Her AZT too. She packed it all up and tossed her bag out the window. She grabbed two envelopes, two pieces of paper, and a pencil before climbing out as well.

She carried herself and her bag to the nearest post office. Once she was there, she used a bobby pin to break in and steal two stamps. She placed them on the envelopes once she was outside. She then wrote the same three words on both papers:

**WE'VE GOT AIDS.**

She folded up the papers and placed each one inside a separate envelope, which were then labeled to go to two people. The first one was meant for Roger. The second had been addressed to Mimi.

She went back in and placed the letters with the mail meant to be distributed out tomorrow before locking herself out.

She then walked across town, right through where the clubs had the bass vibrating outside of the buildings and a passed out drunken idiot was lying on the sidewalk. She went past all of it and down an alley. Most people didn't know who lived at the end of this alley.

Only because they didn't know him name.

April knocked three times on the door of The Man and waited until he opened it. Without a word, he ushered her inside and slammed the door shut.


	17. What Binds the Fabric Together

Maureen's fourteenth birthday party was on a beautiful sunny day. It was warm outside, meaning most families were swimming in their newly opened pools or have already headed to the beach or New Jersey for Memorial day weekend. However, seven teenagers were preparing to head to the Johnson house. It was a large Victorian-style home that was two stories tall and very elegant. Downstairs, the room was cleared with the exception of a couple of couches and a table with food and drinks. A boombox was sitting in the corner. Maureen had bought several tapes with popular music for her friends to dance to. She was wearing a simple little black dress, prepared to be the most beautiful girl at the party. She knew that there were several other girls supposed to show up - and hopefully Angel would be in drag and things would end up going according to plan - but that didn't mean they were going to look better than the birthday girl. She sat patiently in her basement with a Queen tape playing softly. Her parents had clear instructions to take all bags and presents from guests and place them in her room. The first guests to arrive (early, which never happened in Maureen's world) were Joanne and Alison. They were instructed to sit on the couch until everyone else showed up. It was a good half-hour before the others showed up. First were Mark and Roger, who sat down on the couch after hugging Maureen. Joanne moved onto Mark's lap when he took his seat. Mimi came next, and she ran right up to Maureen and hugged her enthusiastically. She sat beside Roger and the three of them exchanged knowing glances. Angel arrived in a suit, much to his own dismay. Little did he know that Mimi had brought one of her favorite, most frilly dresses upstairs in Maureen's room. Benny and Collins were the last people to arrive. At this point, Maureen decided she wasn't going to wait and see if April showed her face or not. It wasn't going to ruin her day.

"So what should we start with?" Maureen asked innocently. "Dancing or eating?" After a few moments of silence, Roger, Collins, and Benny all started cracking up. Maureen giggled along with them, while the others watched in confusion.

"It's all under the table, isn't it?" Collins asked.

"Oh, you know me so well," Maureen said. Roger reached under the tablecloth and pulled out two bottles of alcohol. Mark grinned. Angel and Mimi gulped. Joanne and Alison paled.

"Are we seriously going to get drunk?" Alison asked.

"Only if you can handle it," Maureen answered with a wink. She passed out plastic red cups to her friends and poured Stoli in each cup. "Bottoms up." She and all of the boys - minus Angel, who stared at his cup with a blank expression - didn't hesitate to gulp the entire contents of their cups. They scrunched their noses at the strength of the liquor, but nonetheless went for seconds.

"What the hell," Mimi said. She drank her glass a little more gingerly than the boys had. Angel did the same. Joanne paused, unsure what to do with hers, but reluctantly tried it. It felt like the liquid was burning a hole through her throat, but there a was something about it that made her continue sipping it. Not wanting to feel more like an outcast than she already was, Alison drank her vodka. After a good five minutes, everyone had a slight buzz going.

"What do we do now?" Collins asked. "'Cause I brought the good stuff with me..."

"We're not doing _that_!" Maureen cried. She then leaned close to her friend's ear and whispered, "At least not till later."

"Why not now?" Collins put on a pout. Maureen bit her lip, trying to resist.

"If you want to stay sober-ish, that's fine Mo," Roger intervened. "But I'm on Collins side here." He gave the drama queen a wink. They both knew exactly what they were doing right now.

"_Fine_," she groaned. "If you must, then please, take it up to my room. But open a window, and if my parents find you..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Mo," Collins cut her off. "I'm just gonna go get stoned and let you have your fun."

"Have fun," Maureen said, acting as if she could care less. She watched Roger and Collins race up the stairs. It was her cue. She walked up to Angel as casually as she could manage. She "accidentally" tripped over nothing and spilled her vodka on his shirt. "Oh my god!" she cried. "Angel, baby, I'm _so_ sorry!"

"No harm done," Angel insisted. He knew that Maureen was a little on the careless side. Besides, she was drunk.

"No, really, I am," Maureen told him. "I don't want you to wear a wet shirt! Especially since it's white! I mean, I can see your nipples through it!"

"Maureen!" Angel crossed his arms over his chest in embarrassment.

"Come on, Ang," Mimi said as she stood up. She pulled Angel to his feet. "I know where Maureen's brother's room is. You could probably borrow one of his shirts." Mimi led Angel upstairs.

"Maureen, what are you plotting now?" Mark asked, an eyebrow raised with suspicion.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Maureen lied as she twirled a lock of her hair with her fingers.

"Maureen, you're an only child! You're planning something."

"Trust me, it's nothing, Marky. But, if something _were_ going to take place, let's just say that two people may be thanking me later."

"Oh, God, help us..."

* * *

"Wow, Maureen's right," Mimi said as she and Angel ascended the second flight of stairs to the top story of the house.

"About what?" Angel asked.

"You can totally see your nipples through your shirt."

Angel gasped and crossed his arms across his chest again. "Mimi!" he whined.

"Sorry, but don't get mad at me. Blame the drunk birthday girl who poured vodka on your shirt."

"I guess... so, where's her brother's room?"

"The open door."

"Thanks, Meems." Angel walked into the room and froze when he saw Collins sitting with his back to her. "Collins?" he asked.

The anarchist turned around. "Angel?" he asked weakly.

"What's going on?" Angel cried. "Is this some sort of prank?" He turned around to see Mimi and Roger standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, but this is for your own good," Roger said. Before the other two boys could react, the door was slammed shut. There was a childproof cover on the doorknob. They tried to pry it off, but it was no use. They were stuck.

"Perfect," Angel groaned. "Just freaking perfect."

"I should've known this was a set-up," Collins said. "Maureen and Roger have been trying to make the two of us a couple for weeks."

"Well, no offense, honey, but right now, I'm just not that interested in dating anyone," Angel said. "Especially you."

"That doesn't damage my self-esteem at all, thank you." The two boys sat down on Maureen's bed in awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to do or what to say to each other.

* * *

"How much longer do we sit here?" Roger asked.

"Well, we've been out here for about twenty minutes, and they haven't said anything this whole time," Mimi responded. "We've been instructed to stay here until they're a couple again. Chances are that we'll be here for years before they acknowledge each other's existence again." She shifted uncomfortably. She was becoming unbearably hot with her thin sweater on. She knew that she had to keep her arms covered, but it wasn't cool enough for her to need one.

"Are you okay?" Roger asked. He noticed beads of sweat sliding down the Latina's forehead.

"Yeah," Mimi said, wiping away the sweat with her sleeve.

"You know, you can take off your sweater," the rocker suggested. He reached over and tried to take it off of her, but she shoved him off.

"Don't," she warned.

"Mimi, you're obviously overheating! You'll have a heat stroke or something soon."

"No!" Mimi and Roger continued fighting to keep Mimi's sweater on or off, eventually leading to Roger pulled it off of her shoulder low enough to reveal one lone trackmark on her shoulder around a bruised area.

"Is that from... a needle?" he asked.

"Please," Mimi pleaded as she fixed her sweater. "You don't understand..."

"Yeah, I kind of do." Roger unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. Mimi focused on his ab muscles for a moment before noticing the similar marks on his own arm.

"Oh," she said quietly. Roger nodded and redressed himself. "Was it her?"

"Who?"

"April. It was her who got you started, wasn't it?"

"...Yeah." Roger stared at the ground timidly.

"Me too." Mimi reached over and took his hand in hers. "I've only shot up once within the past week, because it's too hard to get to... The Man. But I've got a connection, so I can always get some from him if I want to."

"Really?" The desperation was plain to see through Roger's eyes. "I've been trying to get a fix ever since I broke up with April."

Mimi smiled at Roger. They could see that it was going to be the start of a wonderful friendship between the two of them, even though they couldn't recognize how messed up they were.

* * *

After much begging from Alison, Benny, and Maureen, Mark and Joanne agreed to show them their tango routine for their upcoming recital. As they went through the steps, Joanne couldn't help but see herself in the arms of the French ambassador's daughter once again. She imagined her manicured fingers tracing across her lower back and her hot breath on her neck when the seductive foreign girl dipped her down slowly. However, she tried to focus on the fact that her boyfriend was leading her through their dance at the moment. When it ended, he kissed her. Joanne deepened their kiss, her mind still on Camille, and after a few moments, she pulled away.

"Um... I have to pee," she lied. Her first instinct was to tell someone the truth. Why she was acting weird around Mark. What went down in the locker room that one day after practice. She should just tell Alison. After all, she was her best friend. Or maybe tell Mark, who's still in the dark and deserved to know the truth. Instead, she unexpectedly blurted out a different name: "Maureen!"

"Huh?" the diva asked.

"Can you lead me to a, um, bathroom?" she squeaked.

"Sure." Maureen shrugged and took Joanne's hand. She led her upstairs and down a long hall. "It's right here - hey!" Joanne grabbed Maureen's hand and dragged her into the bathroom with her. "I don't enjoy this!" she whined.

"Listen," Joanne said. "I need to get something off my chest. I didn't know who else to tell. Alison wouldn't understand and Mark would be heartbroken if he heard..."

The last part had caught Maureen's attention. "What about Mark?" she inquired.

"I... sort of cheated on him," Joanne winced.

"What?!"

"Well, I didn't make any advances. The person came onto me suddenly into the locker room, and now I don't know what to do about it."

"Who's this guy? I'll kick his ass for trying to come between my Marky and his girlfriend!" Maureen was about to leave, but Joanne grabbed her arm.

"That's the thing," she said. "It wasn't a guy."

"Oh... _oh!_" Maureen understood her dilemma. "That's kind of a problem."

"I know!" Joanne groaned. "What do I do? The guilt has been eating me alive! I feel like I've betrayed him! And the worst part is... I kind of liked it."

"It wasn't entirely your - what?" Maureen's eyes widened. "You liked it?"

"And now I'm so confused! I'm trying to sort myself out and I don't know what to tell him, or when, or how." Joanne leaned back against the wall and let out another groan. "Why is my life so complicated?"

"Because life's a bitch?" Maureen guessed. Joanne let out a laugh.

"That's true," she said. "Maureen, do you promise not to tell anyone what I just told you?" Joanne knew that was a stupid thing to ask. Maureen couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it. The girl was a natural blabbermouth. What Joanne definitely didn't expect was for Maureen to hug her.

"I know what you're going through," the diva told her. "I'll keep your secret." She pulled away and smiled. "Now let's not be all depressed and let's go party!" Maureen bounced a little and grabbed Joanne's hand. Joanne smiled and followed Maureen back to the party.

* * *

"So..." Collins spoke up after almost an hour of utter silence.

"So," Angel said.

"Are you just going to avoid me forever?"

"If I wasn't trapped in the same room as you, I would."

"Can we just be a little more mature about this for five minutes?"

"How about no."

"Why are you mad at me?"

"Isn't this your stupid idea?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Maureen. You know that girl is stubborn unless things work out her way."

Angel let out a huff. "That's one thing we can agree on."

"Girl, aren't you uncomfortable with your shirt soaked?" Collins asked.

"...No." Angel uncrossed his arms and looked down at his shirt. He was so mad that Maureen and Mimi were right. He shouldn't have worn a white shirt.

"Here, let me help." Collins turned Angel's body towards him and unbuttoned his shirt slowly. Angel's breath hitched at the touch of Collins' hands against his torso. Soon, he was stripped of his shirt. Collins took in the sight of the beautiful boy in front of him. He wished he had Mark's camera to capture this beauty on film forever.

"I was kind of hoping that Maureen's brother had an extra shirt for me to borrow," Angel said, his eyes glued to the bedsheets. "Now I kind of think that she was lying."

"I hate to break it to you, but Mo's an only child, and her dad is bigger than you," Collins told him.

"Shit." Angel fell back on the bed. "Well, I can't go out there with a soaked shirt, or no shirt at all." He craned his neck and saw something that caught his eye. He began laughing.

"What?" Collins asked.

"I can't believe that my girl went through all this trouble..." Angel rolled over onto his stomach and reached over to grab a duffel bag on the floor. He opened it up to find his black bob wig and a white dress with layers of tulle.

"They put too much effort into this plan," Collins laughed.

"The worst part is that it's working," Angel whispered as he pulled out the dress. He was about to take off his pants before remembering that he wasn't alone. "Oh, uh..."

"Oh," Collins said.

"Fuck it." Angel stood up, unbuttoned his dress pants, and let them fall around his ankles. Collins burst out laughing.

"Girl, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Being who I was meant to be," Angel answered.

* * *

Mark's feet were growing sore from all of this dancing. First he was with Joanne, of course, since she was his girlfriend and dance partner. Then Maureen wanted a turn. She constantly stepped on his feet with her high heels. Eventually, Mark fought away from her with the promises of filming her later. He grabbed his camera and turned it on. For a while, he focused on Benny and Alison slow dancing together. It was the odd pair that hated each other, yet ended up together, just like the couples in every chick-flick Cindy had made him watch over the years.

He heard the wooden steps creak and he whirled his camera around to film Mimi and Roger walking down the stairs, they hands together tightly. They heard the slower music and smiled. They just changed their positions of how they were standing and then began dancing together. It was sweeter than when Roger and April were together. Mark watched them from behind his camera and smiled. It was the badass popular rockstar and the girl who flew under the radar all of her life. He dated her best friend, and she had dated his.

Now he noticed Collins and Angel, who was now in her dress and wig and makeup (which she stole from Maureen - not like she planned on telling the diva anyway). They held each other close, their chests pressed together. Angel rested her head against his shoulder. Collins smiled and rested his own head on top of hers. They didn't even seem to notice that anyone else was in the room. Mark watched as Collins cupped Angel's face in his hands and surprised her with a kiss. She was surprised by the motion for a second before kissing him back. No one approved of them, but somehow, they made it through to this moment, proving their love for each other in front of everyone.

Maureen changed tapes to a more upbeat song. The couples broke apart and they formed into one large group, all of them dancing with everyone else in the room. Mark circled around them with his camera, capturing the moment with every little thing in between. He noticed how close Maureen and Joanne were dancing near each other, but he didn't think twice of it. He was just glad that they were all friends in the end.

_Damn_, he thought to himself, _I've got to stop watching those stupid movies with Cindy._

* * *

Alison left about an hour later. Her parents wanted her to go home and get plenty of rest before her horseback riding lessons early the next morning. Benny didn't want to stay without Alison there and departed not too much longer after his girlfriend. Joanne decided to stay behind, even though everyone expected her to leave when Alison did. They stayed up late dancing and singing karaoke (Maureen's idea). Eventually, they went back to drinking, which led to drinking games (also Maureen's idea, but she didn't suggest it until Roger hinted it a few times). They passed out around one in the morning. Collins and Angel took up the larger couch, the two boys hugging each other unconsciously. Roger and Mimi were spooning on the other couch. Joanne slept on a large air mattress with Mark and Maureen. At first, she had fallen asleep in Mark's arms. However, she had rolled over and put her arms around Maureen. The diva woke up a bit when that happened, but she let it slide. She was too tired to make her move off of her. Plus, she felt really comfortable in Joanne's arms.

The next morning, they woke up around ten (too early, in all of their opinions) and walked over to the Life Café. They acted as civilized as they could manage before finally deciding to put on a spontaneous performance. Maureen jumped up on the table and the others danced around her as she put on a performance about a cow named Elsie that she made up as she went along. About three minutes into her act, the manager threw out the seven teens. They laughed and hugged each other once they did. They hadn't realized until that moment how perfect their group of friend were:

Mark, Roger, Mimi, Maureen, Joanne, Collins, and Angel, all against the world.


	18. We've Got AIDS

"Bye!" Maureen called out to Joanne as she walked out the front door. "See you tomorrow!" She slammed it shut and bounced back downstairs to see all of the boys still lounging around. Mimi and Angel had been long gone by now. It was back to the regular group, minus Benny, just hanging out like usual.

"I'd call this a success," Mark declared. He was hanging upside-down, his pale face slowly turning redder by the second.

"Definitely," Maureen agreed. "And I got to watch you dance too!"

"Wait, what?" Roger asked.

"Marky and Jo were dancing together."

"And I missed it?!" Roger groaned. "That's the last time I ever do anything for you! I miss all the good things." He turned to Collins and grinned. "Although it seemed like you and Angel had some fun yesterday, eh?"

"Not. Cool," Collins said. "You're both total dicks for doing that."

"Doing what?" Roger and Maureen asked as innocently as they could manage.

"Don't give me that crap. You set that up."

"I knew it!" Mark cried before tumbling on the floor.

"We didn't set you up to do anything," Maureen lied.

"It was all her idea," Roger confessed.

"Ass."

"Bitch."

"Mo!" Collins exclaimed. "How could you do that to me?"

"Because you and Angel needed that extra push to work out! I mean, why wouldn't you want to be with him? He's honest, sexy, a _great_ kisser..." Maureen babbled. She paused to remember kissing Angel. Collins made a face.

"How was he able to even kiss you without puking?"

"I'm just that irresistable!" Maureen blew him a kiss. "Besides, you kissed me too!"

"For a different reason!" Collins retorted. "Angel already knew who he was. I didn't."

"I feel lucky that I'm the only guy on the planet who hasn't kissed Maureen," Roger snorted. Seconds later, a throw pillow whacked him across the face and he started cursing loudly at Maureen.

"You would be lucky to get the chance to be able to kiss these lips," Maureen said. "And now you'll never have the experience."

"Oh, how will I ever go on in life?" Roger replied sarcastically.

"Look, let's forget this." Maureen turned to Collins. "Are you happy that we finally got you and Angel together?"

Collins sighed. "As much as I don't want to admit that I needed the help of you two, yes, I'm happy."

"Good. Now let's get stoned and enjoy this boring holiday." Collins nodded and pulled out a joint from his pocket. Roger supplied a lighter. Mark sighed and put his camera aside. Rarely would any of them turn down the opportunity to get stoned.

* * *

The walk from Maureen's house to Mimi's was mostly spent talking about Roger (Mimi) and Collins (Angel). Mimi begged for details about what happened in Maureen's bedroom, and how good of a kisser Collins was. Angel pressed about what Roger was like and if he was perfect - but, in his opinion, not as perfect as Collins was. They then gabbed about how great everyone else was at the party. Angel believed Alison and Benny belonged together, despite knowing that Mimi probably didn't want to hear about that. Mimi agreed that Maureen was just as promiscuous and edgy as she was in school. Mark was called "sweet, shy, and adorable" by both friends. Soon, they finally made it to Mimi's house. Once inside, the two girls made their way to the kitchen to find some kind of lunch.

"Hey, what's this?" Angel asked. He picked up a letter on the table addressed to Mimi. He frowned. "It's April's handwriting."

"What? Let me see," Mimi said. She put a bag of chips on the table and snatched up the letter. "Why would she write me a letter? She'll see me in school tomorrow."

"Maybe it's dirt on Roger."

"I don't know, maybe." Mimi tore the envelope open and pulled out a tiny piece of paper. Her eyes widened and she dropped the paper. A bloodcurling scream rang through the house and Mimi fell to the floor, tears flowing freely. Angel, who was beyond terrified at this point, picked up the paper and read the note.

**WE'VE GOT AIDS.**

Angel dropped the note. He knew it.

"You're positive," he said quietly.

Mimi nodded and struggled to say yes through her sobbing.

"How?"

"Wh-what?"

"How did you get HIV from April?"

Mimi stood up and wiped away tears. "I don't know," she lied. "Maybe from that night from my birthday party."

"_Mimi_," Angel growled. Mimi gulped. Rarely was her best friend angry at her. It was as rare as Hailey's comet. However, Mimi knew she couldn't lie to Angel.

"Maybe it was something else," she mumbled.

"I knew it," Angel said. "April told me you were hooked and I didn't want to believe her. Guess I shouldn't have come to any conclusions that fast."

"Angel, please, let me explain..."

"There's no need to. You're a junkie and you didn't think about the consequences." Angel shook his head. "I can't believe you, Meems."

"No, wait!" Mimi tried to stop Angel, but he left before he heard her side of the story. She leaned against the door and pounded her fist against it as she started crying again.

* * *

Mark smiled as he watched the footage he'd collected over the past school year of his friends. So many memories caught on camera for him to cherish forever. He was glad most of them were on the lighter side of things. Collins, Roger, and Maureen cracking up at a terrible joke Benny said while they were all stoned. Maureen almost flashing the camera when asking if the guys thought she had the best chest out of all the girls in their grade. Joanne dancing with Camille. Angel and Mimi blowing kisses to the camera. Angel and Collins kissing. Maureen and Joanne dancing. Roger and Mimi giggling together. Benny and Alison holding each other. Maureen and Angel kissing. (At this point he realized he had a lot of footage of Angel kissing.) Roger and April being as vulgar in public as humanly possible. The compilation of his friends just continued to make Mark smile.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his window. Mark shrieked before looking over and seeing Roger perched on the branch outside his room. The filmmaker rolled his eyes and opened it.

"Jeez, Roger, you're gonna make me piss myself," he said. Roger climbed in. Mark noticed how bloodshot Roger's eyes were, and the marks on Roger's exposed arms. "Roger?" he asked.

"I need you to come with me somewhere," Roger said. He held out a crumbled piece of paper. Mark took it and read it. He looked between the letter and Roger in disbelief.

"No," he whispered, shocked.

"I fucked up, Mark," Roger said. He bit his lip and tried to refrain from crying. No one, not even Mark, had ever seen him cry. "April... she didn't even say goodbye or anything. I went to her house, and her parents said she'd been gone. They thought she was at Maureen's place all along, and..." He collapsed into Mark's arms.

And for the first time ever, Roger let himself in front of another person.


End file.
